


on the verge of something wonderful

by glazedsun



Series: taken by the sea [2]
Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band), The Voice (Ireland) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 00:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6261328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazedsun/pseuds/glazedsun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Louis wants is to be with Nick, but his siren song makes it dangerous. He and Liam embark on a journey in the hopes of finding a solution, meeting many incredible creatures along the way. </p>
<p>Not only does he learn a lot about the world around him, but also where both Nick and Liam fit into his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out to be quite an undertaking in research and lore, but it was so much fun to research and write. I didn't tag it, because it's incredibly minor, but there are brief mentions of violence and kidnapping in the story. It is only one or two sentences in reference to actual mythology, however, and doesn't happen between or to the main characters of the story. The title is from "On the Verge of Something Wonderful" by Darren Hayes. 
> 
> **While you may be able to enjoy and make sense of the story without reading the first installment of this series, I'd strongly recommend reading "covered by nature" first to get a much better idea of some of the background.**
> 
> Thank you to [linvro](http://linvro.tumblr.com/) and [failurebydesign](http://archiveofourown.org/users/failurebydesign) for the beta reads!!
> 
> And a _huge_ thank you to linvro as well for the beautiful art, which can be seen [here](http://linvro.tumblr.com/tagged/1dbb4)! i love it.

Nick’s first show back went about as well as he expected. It wasn’t his worst show, but it was far from his best. His mind was still back on Ibiza, still in relaxing mode. He didn’t share a lot of stories from his trip on air, but he did make sure to talk about how he almost drowned. Whenever he thought of Louis, a small smile formed on his face. He tried really hard not to let it distract him too much, but he was sure that his team probably picked up on it.

And he was correct. As soon as he wrapped up the show, Fiona cornered him. “So, tell me all about Ibiza,” she smirked, grabbing his arm and leading him out of the studio and across the street to the coffee shop there. 

“You just want to hear about the boy who saved my life,” Nick laughed, rolling his eyes and ordering his coffee. He stared at the baked goods, considering. Usually, he liked to diet when he got back from a holiday, but the scones looked particularly appealing that morning. Sod it, he thought, adding a fresh berry scone to his order. 

“Of course!” Fiona agreed brightly, ordering her own coffee. They walked over to sit in a table in the back corner. “Was he fit? You kept drifting off like you were thinking of someone.”

“Only the fittest come to my rescue,” Nick smirked, puffing out his chest. He made a sound of protest when Fiona reached over, smacking him in the chest. “He’s beautiful, Fi,” Nick sighed dreamily once their laughter settled down. “Eyes like the sea, jawline that could cut glass.”

“Did you properly thank him?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrow suggestively.

“Not like that!” Nick rolled his eyes. “We did have a nice picnic on the beach, and another in the woods.”

Fiona’s eyebrow shot up at that. “You? Dates outside?”

Nick pouted. “I like being outside with Pig!”

“Pig doesn’t count as a date,” Fiona laughed. “You like posh dinners.”

Nick shrugged, thinking back on the time he spent with Louis. Sure, a posh dinner followed by taking Louis back to his hotel room would have been nice. There was just something… different about Louis. There was such a nice feeling when he was with Louis, outside, especially in that clearing. He didn’t know how to explain it to Fiona, and he especially didn’t want to talk about the whole fairy circle thing. “When in Spain,” was all he said, shrugging again with a hint of a smile.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Fiona asked.

Briefly, Nick thought about denying it. But after so many years of working so closely together, Fiona knew him better than most people. She would see right through him, no matter how hard he denied it. He didn’t usually get hung up on guys, not like he was over Louis. “Yeah, reckon I do,” Nick sighed.

“Have you talked to him since you got back?” 

Nick shook his head. “He doesn’t have a phone.”

“What?” Fiona asked, shocked. “It’s 2015. Everyone over the age of ten seems to have a phone.”

“That’s what I said!” Nick laughed, shrugging. “Dunno, he just lives in a remote part of the island with a few friends.”

“Weird,” Fiona hummed, thinking on it. “What does he do?”

Nick frowned, thinking about it. He’d talked about his jobs plenty, but now that he thought about it… Louis had never really mentioned working. In fact, he’d barely mentioned anything about himself, much more interested in hearing Nick talk. And really, Nick loved talking about himself and he was so passionate about his work that it was easy for him to start going on about it. “’m not sure,” Nick admitted. 

“Do you even know anything about him?”

“I know he sorta separated himself from his family, doesn’t want to be like them. They’re hunters,” Nick explained. “And I know he’s good with animals, he had a horse following him around.”

“Well no wonder you like him,” Fiona laughed, shaking her head. 

Nick shrugged, grinning brightly. Liking animals was very important to him, especially if they got along with Pig. “He didn’t really open up about himself much. It was like,” Nick frowned, thinking about how to phrase the vibe that he got from Louis. 

“Like he was hiding something?” Fiona suggested.

“A little bit, but he wasn’t being shifty about it,” Nick answered, reaching up to run his hand through his hair. “It was more like he just wasn’t used to talking about himself, didn’t really know what to say. Maybe hiding something and just being cautious not to reveal too much. Just not really interested in talking about himself. A combination of all those things.”

“Hmmm, sounds mysterious. Just your type,” Fiona teased before standing up. “Believe your car is here, though,” she added, nodding out the door where there was, indeed, a car waiting to take Nick to X Factor auditions.

“Ta, love,” Nick said, standing up. He walked around the table, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking out the door, heading to the next phase of his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the last chapter for a glossary of some of the beings mentioned throughout the story, and let me know if there's any that you think I should add!


	2. Part One

Almost immediately after Nick left, Louis wanted answers. The morning after their date in the forest, Louis was sitting in the same clearing with Liam and Perrie, trying to come up with something. None of them, especially Louis, could think of a way for him to modify his siren song. The most that he could control was the power of his song, but he couldn’t turn it off completely. Unless they got outside help, he would just have to settle for being very, very careful when talking to Nick. So far, his speaking voice didn’t seem to affect the human, but he knew that there was always a chance of something going wrong.

“We could always go talk to others,” Liam suggested after a couple of hours of brainstorming came up completely fruitless. 

“But who?” Louis sighed. “Who could possibly know what to do with this?”

“I could talk to Zayn,” Perrie suggested. “I haven’t heard from him in ages, but he might have something in one of his spell books.” 

“Ed and Niall are both pretty powerful,” Liam added. “Especially when they work together to aid humans. They might not be able to help you, but they might be able to help Nick.”

Louis sighed, laying back on the grass and staring up at the clear blue sky. He remained silent, just trying to process everything and decide if it was worth the risk of travelling around the world.

Liam could sense that Louis was starting to let anxiety and fear take over. The centaur moved closer to the siren, laying in the grass next to him. He reached down to stroke Louis’ wing gently, the soft feathers fluttering under his touch. Liam watched as Louis’ eyes closed and his body sagged slightly in relaxation.

“Alright,” Louis sighed, his voice hoarse. “We split up. Pez, you can go try and find Zayn. Liam and I will go to Ireland and try and find the fairies.” He sat up, folding his wings behind him and shifting to lean on Liam. “Maybe we should go to Greece first,” he said reluctantly. 

“When was the last time you actually spoke to your mother?” Perrie asked, eyebrow raised.

In all honesty, Louis had no idea. He had left Greece not long after his 75th birthday. He hadn’t been developing his song quite like his sisters were. Instead of understanding the songs of harm, Louis was teaching himself songs of healing and growth. There weren’t many; in fact, most were his own song that he manipulated. His family was slightly disappointed in him. _‘No wonder male sirens are so rare,’_ Lottie had teased him. On Louis’ 75th birthday came the ultimatum. Stay in Greece and hone the true siren’s song, Jay said, or go off on your own and don’t come back. He’d chosen to leave, as much as it pained him to leave the country he loved so dearly. Louis had flown until he’d gotten tired, and wound up on the island of Ibiza, where he had remained since. 

He’d had some communication with her and his sisters since, a helpful creature passing on a message or a letter, but actually _spoken_ to her? Gods. “I haven’t actually talked with her since I left,” he sighed, and Liam reached out to place a comforting hand on Louis’ back.

“Do you think that she would even be willing to help you with something like this?” Perrie continued, questions prodding but as gentle as she could manage. Out of everyone that Louis had met and talked with about his family, Perrie was the one who knew the most. She’d been the first one that he met only a few weeks after he’d made himself a home in his cave. She knew, more than anyone, just how much it hurt Louis to not have his family in his life.

“It involves a human,” Louis said, blunt and straight to the point.

“I take it her solution would be to just kill him?” Liam sighed, squeezing Louis’ back with a gentle touch.

Louis merely nodded in reply, and remained silent for a moment until he spoke up. “We should still try the nesting grounds. Even if she refuses to help me, there might be someone else willing to try.”

“You know it’s risky going back there,” Perrie warned, no need to say out loud that Jay could very easily just kill Louis should she be so inclined.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Of course I know that,” he snapped. “But I don’t believe she’d actually kill me if she saw me. I’m too rare to kill,” his voice was bitter, laced with decades of being gawked at by the dozens of female sirens he’d grown up around. 

“That’s the only reason?” Liam asked, surprised and a little pitying, shocked that a mother could care so little for her son, especially a son as special as Louis.

At the question, Louis shook his head. “Not really, no.” Liam relaxed at that. “I think, deep down, she really does care for me. In some weird, twisted, siren way. Plus, I’ll have Liam with me. He’ll protect me.” Louis reached over and messed up Liam’s hair, grinning at the centaur.

“Alright, it’s settled then,” Perrie nodded. “I’ll see if I can find Zayn. You guys are going to do what you can in Greece and Ireland.”

“We leave tomorrow,” Louis declared, thankful when Liam nodded in agreement.

-

Bright and early the next morning, as the sun was rising in the sky, Louis found himself sitting on the beach with Liam and Perrie, Harry close in the water. 

“Okay, we have everything figured out, right?” Liam asked, looking between the others.

“I’m off to Zayn,” Perrie nodded.

“I’m going to keep an ear out,” Harry said, and Louis smiled at him gratefully. There was only so much the Harry could actually do while beneath the water, so any little bit was good.

“And we are going to Greece, and then Ireland,” Louis finished.

“Good,” Liam nodded. “I’ve got Andy keeping an eye on the centaurs for me.” Louis made a face at that, but nodded. He wasn’t very fond of the satyr, but he was a good choice to keep an eye on things while Liam was gone. “And if any of us find anything, we’ll immediately let the others know.”

“How will we communicate?” Louis asked.

“Athena’s owl,” Liam said, a smug look on his face.

Harry let out a low, impressed, whistle. “No way. How in the world did you manage that one?”

“Gonna guess that being related to Chiron, educator to the Heroes, gets some perks with the goddess of wisdom,” Perrie laughed.

Liam nodded. “It does. She doesn’t have much use for her, so,” he shrugged and whistled, and not long later a little owl flew over to them, perching on Liam’s outstretched arm.

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Perrie murmured, eyes wide.

“I figured she’d be bigger,” Louis said, cocking his head and blinking at the owl, who blinked slowly back at him. That made Louis laugh.

“Small and powerful, this little owl,” Liam said, reaching up with his free hand to stroke the feathers on the owl’s head. “I am connected telepathically to her. Whenever I use that whistle, she will come to me. If I then need to pass a message on to you, Pez, she will find you and leave it for you.”

“What if I need to send you one?” Perrie asked. “That’s well great that she will go to you, but that doesn’t mean she would show up for me.”

“She will,” Liam reassured Perrie. “Now that she has met you and knows that I trust you, she will be there. Just whistle for her, and she will come, and if you tell her to return to me, she will find us.”

“Brilliant,” Louis grinned.

Harry grinned as he looked around at all of them. “I really hope you guys figure something out. Who knew rescuing one random drowning man could lead to all this?” he teased, winking at Louis.

“Thanks, Haz,” Louis laughed, shaking his head.

Quickly, they said their goodbyes, and each set off in their own directions, hoping to find the solution they were looking for. All of them wanted to help find a way for Nick and Louis to safely be together. They knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but they were still optimistic about it.

When Liam had travelled in the past, especially before he had settled on the island of Ibiza, he had relied on helpful pirates and demi-gods to grant him safe passage across the seas. This time, though, it was different. With his and Louis’ magic combined, they were able to use their glamours to travel together, just a man and his horse looking for a fresh start. Both of them reacted in different ways to being aboard the ships. Louis despised it. He wanted nothing more than to be off the ship, high in the air or on the ground. His veins buzzed with a primal need to distract the men, to steer the ships into rocky waters. It was taking everything in him to control his song, and it had him nervous and on edge.

On the other hand, Liam was loving it. Oh, sure, he hated being cooped up under the deck for the trip. He was rarely alone, however, with the crew constantly visiting him to say hello. He’d never spent so much time around so many humans, and actually been able to interact with them… in a way. Liam drank in the conversations around him, absorbing every little piece of information that he heard, every nuance of humanity he didn’t often get to see so closely. 

Rather than Louis spending his nights in his assigned cabin, they were always together. Liam curled up in the corner of his stall, Louis curled into him, often sleeping with his head on the horse’s neck, arms wrapped around him. While they didn’t need to sleep in the same ways that humans did, their constant cloaking magic was draining and required at least a couple of hours of sleep. While sleeping, the glamour could not stay up. Due to that, they took turns sleeping. When it was his turn to stay awake, Liam made sure that Louis had blankets tucked snugly around him to hide the wings and talons. And when it was Louis’ turn, he was conscious of which way that Liam was facing and how they could lay, covered enough without literally covering Liam’s entire front half with a blanket and risking his ability to breathe. The first night was a bit of a trial and error, but it didn’t take them long until they got into a nice system.

Because they were traveling on a shipping ferry, rather than a typical car ferry or fancy yacht, progress was slower than Louis would have liked. He was anxious to be off the ship, away from the humans and the temptations of traveling by sea. He couldn’t even take to flight in the early morning; how was he supposed to explain his sudden disappearance and appearance? Plus, then Liam would have been exposed for what he truly was. It was not worth the risk.

Three days later, they finally docked not far from Athens. Louis led Liam out and down the docks, hugging the horse tightly. “Finally made it,” he breathed, relieved to be off of the boat. 

However, his relief was short lived. After a stop to get something to drink, they continued on the docks, hoping to find someone who would be willing to take them to the island of Ikaria. Quite a few turned them down because of Liam, but they were determined. Finally, they found a gentleman with a big enough cargo hold that he could take Liam with. 

The trip to Ikaria was much shorter, thankfully. It wasn’t long before they found themselves walking away from the docks, heading inland. There were pockets of civilization, so they made sure to be careful not to drop their facades until they got closer to the nesting grounds. 

“Fuck,” Louis murmured as he stood down the beach near the rocky cliffs that held an ancient secret. Hidden among the cliffs were dozens of sirens of all ages, learning and teaching and living in a colony. While most drifted away as they grew older, some stayed around. Though tourism and villages sprung up on the other side of the island, legends and superstitions and plenty of mysterious deaths and shipwrecks caused humans to stay away from the cliffs.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Liam asked, placing a gentle hand on Louis’ shoulder.

“No,” Louis laughed, his voice shaky. “But I need to do it.”

“Okay,” Liam agreed solemnly. They both took a deep breath before continuing onward, closer and closer to the cliffs themselves.

Louis didn’t really know what to expect when they got within sight of the sirens. It certainly wasn’t a young siren flying at him, tackling him to his feet and yelling his name. “Oof,” he laughed, pushing his younger sister off of him. “Daisy? Wow, look at you!” 

“I’m almost all grown up,” Daisy said proudly, her golden wings- so similar in color to Lou’s- fluffed out behind her. “Mum says it’s almost time for me to really begin my training.”

At that, Louis had to do his best to school his expression into something more neutral. The last time he had actually seen Daisy and her twin, they had just barely been older than hatchlings. Now it was only a matter of time before they became killers, possibly even as skilled and ruthless as Lottie. Louis wasn’t really fond of that idea, but he couldn’t exactly tell Daisy that. It was her right to be trained, to be who she was meant to be. Just because Louis was a little… different, didn’t mean his sisters were as well. “That’s wonderful, kiddo,” he forced a smile instead.

“Do you want to go see mum? Is that why you’re back?” she asked, hopping around him and acting more like an excited small songbird than the bird of prey she truly was. While she was hopping, she continued to ramble on. “She’s with Ernest and Doris, they only just hatched not long ago! Like a year or two?? You haven’t met the new twins, have you? Another boy, Louis! Oh, the nest is beside itself!”

At that, Louis felt faint. He was thankful to have Liam right beside him, offering his support and holding him up before he collapsed. Louis had been aware that it was another set of twins in his mother’s latest egg (surely she must have had some distant relation to Leda), but for some reason had never really understood that one of those twins was a boy. He was surprised that the news hadn’t reached him; Ernest was the first male siren born since Louis. “Harry had to know,” Louis murmured to Liam while Daisy was still rambling, unaware that Louis had spoken yet. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I don’t know,” Liam sighed. “Didn’t want to worry you, maybe?”

Louis shrugged, then turned his attention back to his sister. “Well, that wasn’t why I came back, but a visit with mum and my brood might be a nice thing. Can my friend Liam come, too?”

Daisy paused in her speaking, turning her attention to Liam like it was the first that she’d even noticed his presence. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. It was plain she’d never seen a centaur before, which made both Liam and Louis chuckle gently. “Yes!” she agreed easily, running over Liam to run her hand down his back.

“That’s very rude, touching people without asking first,” Louis scolded his sister, who turned bright red and pulled her hand back as if burnt.

“I’m sorry!” she said quickly, “It’s just! He’s so pretty! I went exploring with Fizzy the other day when she visited, and we found this place where there was a herd of wild horses. They were so lovely, but if we tried to go near them they just ran away. I only wanted to pet them.”

“It’s okay,” Liam laughed, unable to help smiling at her childlike enthusiasm. Like many magical creatures with long life spans, sirens aged much slower than the human population, and kept their youthfulness far longer, until their ‘teenage’ years, around age 50. “You are allowed, because you are Louis’ sister and very lovely. Just don’t pull my hair or stand on me with your talons, okay?”

“I promise!” Daisy agreed happily, reaching to stroke Liam’s back once more. 

“Don’t listen to him,” Louis mock-whispered into her ear. “He loves it when you stand on him with your talons.”

“Hey!” Liam groaned, rolling his eyes but unable to stay that mad when both Tomlinsons were sharing matching giggles.

When the giggles subsided, they all continued on the trek to the caverns, chattering softly. Louis stopped short when he saw his mother, two small children clinging to her legs.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Daisy running over to get Jay’s attention, Louis might have just turned around and made a run for it. It was too late, though, when his mother looked up and saw him.

“Louis?” she asked, stunned. 

“Hi mum,” he said quietly. He watched all the emotions flicker over her face, everything from surprise to happiness to anger.

She didn’t say anything else for a long moment, instead bending down to pick up one of the squirming babies. Daisy easily picked up the other, cooing happily. Jay turned to Daisy, saying, “Be a dear and go see what your sisters are up to. Take Doris with you. I’ll be back later, okay?”

“But I want to stay with Louis,” Daisy pouted. At the stern look from her mother, however, Daisy quickly turned around and walked away, carrying Doris with her.

Jay turned back to Louis, looking over him with a scrutinizing glance and then turning to Liam to give him the same look. Her eyes widened after a few moments of studying the centaur. “You’re Liam, aren’t you?” she asked, her voice hushed with respect.

Had Liam just been any centaur, she probably would have no idea who he was. But because of his bloodline, a lot of creatures seemed to just instinctively know who he was. Louis loved when Liam was recognized: it made the centaur squirm with embarrassment, and anything that made Liam a bit uncomfortable brought a great enjoyment to Louis. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Liam smiled sheepishly. 

“It’s such an honor to meet you,” Jay said, bowing the slightest bit, which made Liam even more uncomfortable. It wasn’t like he was _royalty_ , he just… happened to be from a very respected line. Any recognition often made him a bit uncomfortable. “What brings you two to the nest?”

Instead of answering her question, Louis decided to ask one of his own. “Why didn’t you tell me you had another son?”

Jay raised an eyebrow. “Are you jealous you’re not as special anymore?”

“Of course not,” Louis rolled his eyes. “I just… would have liked to meet him sooner, that’s all.”

Jay studied him for a moment before relaxing a bit. “I thought you knew. Your merman friend, he came to see me and I assumed that he’d told you.”

“So you thought I hadn’t come to meet him because I was bitter,” Louis guessed, frowning a little when Jay nodded.

“You’ve always loved your siblings. I thought you would have been here to meet the little ones as soon as you found out, so when you never showed, I figured that was why,” she explained.

“I didn’t come because I thought you wouldn’t want me there. You told me I wasn’t welcome back if I left,” Louis pointed out.

Jay at least had the decency to look ashamed at that, recalling the ultimatum that she had given Louis so many years ago. “I didn’t think you’d actually listen. You’ve always been too stubborn for your own good.”

“Yeah, well,” Louis shrugged. 

“Felicite is taking after you,” Jay spoke up after a few moments of awkward silence. 

“Wonder what the brood thinks of that,” Louis thought aloud, his tone bitter. “Not only did you hatch two boys, but at least two of your offspring refuse to kill.”

“Louis,” Liam scolded, placing a hand on the siren’s lower back.

Louis sighed and closed his eyes, composing himself for a moment. He was about to speak up and apologize when Jay cut in. “I hear the things they say about me. Sometimes it’s harsh, but the life of a siren is a harsh one. It’s a life of madness, and that is why we deflect that madness onto lesser beings. Sometimes, when it becomes too much, then we turn on each other. It’s why I asked you to leave, Louis. It wasn’t to push you out of my life; it was to protect you. I don’t know how you manage to control the madness without killing or turning on others, and I wanted you to keep that. I didn’t want the others to turn on you more than they already had.”

Louis was immediately reminded of the words he’d said barely a week earlier, before he and Liam had set off on their journey. He had hoped that Jay had sent him away because she cared, but had no idea how that made sense. Actually hearing it from her, though, made it more real and made it all easier for him to understand. “I understand,” he said softly, then looked down at the child in his mother’s arms. “Can I…?”

“Of course,” Jay replied quickly, carefully placing her son in his brother’s outstretched arms. Ernest stared up at Louis with big, curious eyes, taking everything in. “Now, I’m going to ask again. What brings you here? I have a feeling it wasn’t just to meet your siblings.”

“No,” Louis sighed. “It’s, um. It’s about a human.”

At that, Jay’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened. In fact, if she had still been holding her child, she might have dropped him. “What could you possibly come here for in regards to a _human_?”

Both Louis and Liam bristled at the tone of her voice. “Why do you hate them so much?” Liam asked, always curious.

“Because they’re inferior.”

“I know that’s the standard answer,” Liam pressed, “but you seem… especially upset about them.”

“Did you read my mother’s mind?” Louis gaped at Liam.

“Just a brief glimpse,” Liam muttered. “It kind of… is involuntary when strong emotions are felt or expressed.”

Jay looked from Louis to Liam, then sighed. Her confident demeanor faltered some, and she looked almost scared. “I’d rather not do this standing here. Let’s go back to the caves and eat, and once the girls go to bed I will tell you the full story, okay?”

“Okay,” Louis and Liam both agreed in unison. They followed her through the forest and up the paths to Jay’s cave.

-

Eating turned out to be a raucous affair, with all of the girls talking over each other to try and get the attention of both Louis and Liam. For the most part, they let it go and just indulged the other sirens in their questions. After awhile, though, Jay finally shooed them off so she could talk to Louis and Liam alone.

They settled in, Liam laying on the floor while Jay and Louis sat nearby. “I’ve really never told you the story of our ancestors?” Jay asked.

Louis shook his head. “I did always assume that you had some distant relation to Leda, though.”

At that, Jay let out a bright, musical, laugh. “While that would make sense, as far as I’m aware we have no relation to her. Then again, with the Greeks being the Greeks….” She trailed off, a smirk on her face. She then took a deep breath, getting ready to start their story. “How much do you know about Boreas?”

“No way,” Liam gasped, his eyes wide. “You’re related to Boreas?”

“Who’s that?” Louis frowned. Learning and memorizing names had never been one of his strong suits.

“The north-wind,” Jay supplied.

“He supposedly was the father of an incredibly powerful, immortal, and swift herd of horses,” Liam added, which made Louis understand why the centaur had gotten so excited so quickly.

“Yes, the fabled Horses of Troy. A lot of the truth of the old stories has been lost over the centuries, especially with many of the gods and goddesses fading away to who knows where. Boreas was said to have fathered those horses, as the wind. He also had a wife at one point, a human woman he kidnapped. They had a few children, two of whom were called the Boreades. They were two twin brothers, and it’s said that they had wings, either a deep purple or a vibrant gold.”

At Jay’s words, Louis unconsciously glanced down at his own wings, catching the glint of gold there.

“No one knows anymore what really happened to them. Some legends tell a tale of them traveling with Jason and the Argonauts to free their sister, some legends say that they perished in pursuit of harpies, others still say that they were slain by Heracles. All that I know for sure is that somewhere before they died, they had offspring, and those offspring eventually became me and you and your sisters,” Jay explained.

“So are you not truly sirens, then? Just winged descendants of a god?” Liam asked.

“Oh, we’re definitely sirens,” Louis answered for Jay. “I’ve seen the song at work; it’s definitely the siren song.”

“Louis is correct,” Jay added. “We have the siren song, so our blood must be more siren than Boread.”

“The Boread bloodline could explain a lot, though,” Liam mused. “The twins. The golden feathers.”

“The compassion,” Jay spoke up, looking pointedly at Louis when she said that. “Depending which legends are true, it could explain why and your sister don’t have the siren instinct to kill.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you hate humans so much, though,” Louis pointed out. “What was the point of telling me our ancestry, fascinating as it is, if it doesn’t actually answer the question?”

“Patience, Lou,” Liam laughed. “She’s probably getting to that.” Louis made a face at him, but stayed silent.

“Thank you, Liam,” Jay said with a small smile. “Tell me, Louis. This human… do you love them?”

Louis flushed, looking down at the ground. “Well, I am quite fond of him.”

“I was afraid of this,” she murmured. “It’s rare, but it has happened in the past. Because of our lineage, there have been a few sirens who have been drawn to humans instead of wanting to kill them. Liam, you are drawn to humans yourself, are you not?” When the centaur nodded, Jay continued on. “It’s probably because of the relation to Chiron. Same way that Louis seems to be drawn to humans because of his forefather’s love of a human woman. I’d done everything I could to prevent this happening for you, Louis, by trying to get you to understand the world of the siren and how dangerous humans are.”

“But why? Why go out of your way to do that?” Louis asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Your great-grandmother fell in love with a human, a pirate who often sailed in nearby waters. She watched him from afar, wishing to be close to him. This was in the early days of our ability to disguise ourselves, when just a simple glamour was draining if done even for an hour. One day, she couldn’t help herself. She had to be near him. The only problem was that she didn’t even think to use her disguise, and went to him in her full glory. He was startled, and terrified, and tried to attack her. In her surprise, she accidentally used her song and drove him completely insane. He jumped off the boat, and in her grief, she jumped after him, wanting to die by his side. A mermaid tried to save both of them, but in the end only your great-grandmother survived. She came back to the nest, but was never the same. She was so angry at him for not listening to her declarations of love, and angry at herself that she had scared him to death. Perhaps a decade later, the grief overcame her, and she threw herself from the highest cliff after breaking both of her wings to make sure she couldn’t fly.”

“Wow,” Louis breathed after a few moments of stunned silence. 

“That is why I hate humans, from the moment your grandmother told me that story. I was so scared of it happening to me or one of my children, and now it has,” Jay said, her voice shaky.

“This is different,” Louis protested.

“How? How could it possibly be a good thing?!” 

“I’ve talked to him, mum. And Liam is there, he won’t let me get hurt.”

“Liam is there?” Jay frowned in confusion. “I thought centaurs didn’t have that type of magic.”

“You forget who Liam’s ancestor is,” Louis smiled.

“It only works if I have Louis there with me,” Liam explained. “When we combine our magic, I can disguise as a horse. It’s somewhere between using the human glamour and actually shifting between forms.”

Jay nodded, remaining silent while she thought for a bit. “Okay, so then why did you come here?”

“We were hoping that maybe someone here might… know of a way to hold back my song so that I don’t have to get nervous when I talk to him. I worry that I might accidentally fuck with his mind,” Louis explained.

“None of us were able to come up with any ideas, so we are going to look and see if any creatures have any idea at all. The first logical place was to come to the sirens themselves,” Liam continued.

Jay shook her head fiercely. “I see why you might think that, but it’s actually the worst possible thing you could do here. These are intense sirens, they would never do anything that might benefit a human being. That’s why I wanted you far from here, Louis. I didn’t want them to turn on you more than they already had.”

Louis sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that. Actually, to be honest, I didn’t even expect you to talk to us this much.”

“You thought I hated you?” Jay asked. Louis nodded. “I reckon that’s understandable. I don’t hate you, but you won’t find any help here.”

“At least you got to meet the little twins,” Liam said to Louis, wanting to reassure his friend. He could tell that Louis was frustrated and upset. He knew how badly Louis wanted to find answers and find a way that he could truly enjoy his time with Nick.

“Do you have a next step?” 

Liam nodded. “I know some fae folk in Ireland. We’re hoping that they may have some kind of magic that might help. Our friend Perrie is also trying to find a warlock we used to know, but so far she hasn’t been able to get in contact with him.”

Jay nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face. “If you can, get up to Norway. There’s a town there called Hammerfest; I believe it’s the northernmost town in the world, or one of them. Last I knew, there was a small group of Valkyries living there. Valkyries have been known to fall in love with humans fairly easily, so they might be useful to you.”

“Thank you,” Louis breathed out, shocked that his mother was not only hearing them out, but actually offering up a bit of advice. He certainly hadn’t expected _that_.

“You’re welcome,” Jay replied. “Please be careful? I don’t like this at all.”

“Me falling for a human?” 

“That, yes,” Jay nodded. “Definitely that. All this traveling too, though, worries me. Don’t get caught.”

“We’ll be very careful,” Liam reassured her.

“Good. You can set out in the morning. Your sisters should be back soon, we can spend some time together before you have to leave.” 

Louis and Liam both nodded in agreement. True to Jay’s words, the girls came back not much longer. They spent the rest of the evening filling Louis in on everything that he had missed since he left, and what they had last heard from Lottie and Fizzy. In return, Louis and Liam told them stories of life on Ibiza.

The next morning, they set off as the sun rose, after Louis promised his mother that he would try and stay in touch with her more often. It was a start in mending their relationship. As for Nick, the trip hadn’t really helped on that front more, but they had another lead they could pursue and that was something. Louis was determined to find a solution, no matter how far they had to travel.

-

It was turning out to be a much more complicated journey than Louis had anticipated. He and Liam decided to give Norway a try. He was grateful that they only had a short journey on a boat from the island of Ikaria into the mainland of Europe. From there, they were able to travel in their actual forms for most of the way- provided they kept to trails less traveled and often overnight. 

It was a long, and exhausting, journey. Even for magical creatures such as themselves, who didn’t tire very easily, it was arduous. They stopped for a couple of days in the mountains near the Czech Republic and Poland, where they were taken in by a Krakonoch who, luckily, was in a helpful mood. The giants were finicky (“even moodier than you,” Liam had teased when he’d explained the lore of the Krakonoch to Louis later on), and could switch from being incredibly helpful to murderous depending on what was going on in nature around them.

After they had rested up, Louis and Liam were ready to get on the way and finish their journey. Because they were so reinvigorated, they made the journey to Denmark much quicker than they expected. After another short boat ride across the North Sea, they found themselves in Norway at last. 

By the time they were approaching Hammerfest, it felt like months had gone by. In actuality, it had only been a few weeks since they had left Ibiza. In that time, Perrie had contacted them to let them know that she had not been able to reach Zayn at all. He had, it seemed, shut her out of the tower. She had given up on Zayn, and instead was following a lead in France. Louis and Liam had let her know their plan, and then made their way to the town.

Just like Jay had told them, there was a small semi-permanent camp set up on the outskirts of the town. Louis and Liam made their way to the camp, both nervous. Neither of them had met a Valkyrie before, and neither knew what to expect. When they’d reached Norway, Liam had spent the journey telling Louis what he knew of the maidens: which, admittedly, wasn’t very much. There were conflicting legends, some telling of terrible creatures who got a thrill out of torturing and killing mankind. Other legends told of honorable maidens, helpers to the god and healers to mankind. That particular legend seemed to support Jay’s words, so Liam was hoping that would be what they would find.

They were greeted at the entrance by a beautiful blonde atop a pure white draft horse. She said nothing, just stared at them and waited for them to speak.

Louis got down from Liam’s back, bowing his head before the Valkyrie. “Greetings. My name is Louis, and this is Liam. We seek council with you and your kind, if you will allow it.”

The Valkyrie regarded both of them before nodding to herself and getting down from her horse. She walked closer to Louis and Liam, offering out her hand. “My name is Ellie. Welcome, let us have a meal before we discuss what you came for.”

Both Louis and Liam nodded and followed Ellie to a large shack-like building. When they were inside, Ellie led them to a kitchen, where she offered them each a warm mug of gløgg and motioned for them to sit down. She sat down with her own mug, still remaining silent even as another Valkyrie came over to them with three steaming bowls.

Louis breathed in the steam from the soup, immediately feeling warm and comfortable. “What is this?” He asked, breaking the slightly awkward silence that hung over the room.

“It’s a traditional Norwegian lapskaus,” the Valkyrie who had set their food down explained. 

“It’s delicious,” Liam complimented after he took a taste.

“Thank you,” the Valkyrie smiled in in gratitude before disappearing again. 

When she was gone, Ellie turned back to Louis and Liam. “You said you required council?” she asked, regal and ethereal even as she sat eating her soup.

“My mother sent me,” Louis explained. “She wasn’t able to give me the help I need, and she suggested that maybe you could help me.”

“What could I possibly help you with that another siren could not?” Ellie asked.

“Humans,” Louis said, blunt and to the point. 

Ellie’s eyebrows raised at that, a clear look of shock upon her face. “My sisters and I do not harm humans. We merely watch over battles, healing those we deem needing it. Of those we cannot or choose not to help, we guide the worthy into afterlife.”

“Legends have spoken of Valkyries who have fallen for warriors,” Liam put in. “How true is this?”

For the first time, Ellie looked truly rattled. Liam had struck a nerve. “Why do you need to know?” she asked, her voice tense.

“Because I am falling for a human,” Louis said.

Ellie’s face managed to both soften and look shocked at the same time. “A siren? Falling for a human? Something stranger, I don’t think I’ve ever heard.”

“I’ve just found out it runs in my family,” Louis muttered, sighing a little. “I am trying to find some kind of answer. I’ve spoken with him, but I’m always afraid that I’m going to harm him.”

“And your mother figured that, since we have a weakness for humans, we might be able to help you out,” Ellie supplied. Louis nodded. Ellie sighed. “Of course. It’s a common assumption. I wish I could say it’s not true, but it is. Not for all of us, mind you, but every once in awhile it happens, especially to those who live their life among humans.”

“How do they handle it?” Louis asked.

“Honestly?” Ellie asked. Louis nodded. “They love the human until he or she dies. Then they mourn. Some move on, and some never recover.”

Louis bristled. He’d never even thought about that. He’d been so concerned about his song, about keeping Nick from going insane or accidentally killing him with his song. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that he would outlive Nick. Perhaps he should considering finding some kind of solution for that, too.

Ellie and Liam both sensed Louis’ distress immediately. Liam reacted by shifting closer to Louis, wrapping an arm around the siren and rubbing his shoulder. Ellie reached for Louis’ hand, squeezing it gently. “I don’t mean to scare you, Louis. You asked me to be honest with you.”

“I know,” Louis said softly.

Ellie nodded, then continued on. “Most of them had long and loving relationships with their lovers.”

“Unless I accidentally kill him with my voice,” Louis muttered.

“Is that what you are concerned with?” she asked gently.

“He’s terrified of it,” Liam said, smiling fondly at Louis when he made a face at Liam.

Ellie considered Louis, sipping on her gløgg as she thought about what to say. “I can see why it would be terrifying, honestly. Losing someone you love is one thing, but if it were because of something you couldn’t control?” She shook her head, squeezing his hand again. “Unfortunately, I don’t know if there’s anything we can help you with there. We don’t have that kind of magic. All that some of my sisters can advise you on is how to interact with him, how to come to terms with it.”

Louis nodded, sighing and leaning into Liam more. “I understand.”

“I feel bad that you came all this way for nothing. It couldn’t have been an easy journey.”

Louis and Liam both shook their heads. “It wasn’t easy, but it’s been nice spending time with this guy,” Liam said fondly, reaching up to mess with Louis’ hair.

“Likewise,” Louis said, turning and grinning at Liam. “I think we knew it was a longshot, but it was worth a try. We are trying absolutely anything that we can find, even have a couple of our friends out looking for answers as well.”

“This human must be very special to you,” Ellie observed. Louis flushed, looking down with a small smile and nodding. “Well, since you two travelled all this way and I wasn’t as much of a help as you thought, please, feel free to stay for a couple of days with us. You can rest before continuing on, and we can help you with the next leg of your journey.”

“We’d be honoured to stay the night,” Liam said. “I don’t think we will need to stay more than that, but we do appreciate the offer. And we would appreciate the help along the way.”

“Of course,” Ellie smiled. “That would be fine.”

They continued on with their meal, changing the subject. Ellie explained the history of her and her sisters, while Louis and Liam both explained their own. They talked into the late hours of the evening, before getting some rest and getting ready to start on the next leg of their journey.

-

The first thing that he and Liam did when they got to Ireland was look for Niall and Ed. Louis had never met either of them before, but Liam was good friends with Niall, and Ed just seemed to be part of a package deal.

Louis liked both of them the second he met them. He could see why both of them were so special to Liam. They hadn’t gone to Ireland to make friends, though; rather, they were trying to find a solution.

Unfortunately, Ed’s leprechaun powers couldn’t be of much help. His magic was mostly limited to playful things and what was needed to grant wishes. There were apparently all kinds of rules behind the wishes, too; it wasn’t like Louis could just wish for a solution. Because Ed felt bad that he couldn’t be of much help, he offered to go and ask around to see if any of the fairy folk had any ideas that could help them.

While Niall’s magic was powerful as well, the Aos Sí was unable to come up with any answers. He could weave a ward of protection over Nick, but he would have to be there every time. While he didn’t mind traveling from his forest, he certainly couldn’t imagine leaving it for good.

He did know someone who he thought might be able to help, however. So while Ed set out to talk with some of the other folk and see if any of their magical talents could come in handy, Louis, Liam, and Niall all set off for a lake that wasn’t far from Niall’s home of Mullingar.

“So what kind of fairy are we going to go see?” Liam asked.

“Well, he’s actually not a fairy,” Niall grinned. “His name is Bressie, and he’s pretty great. Very helpful, and very ancient so he knows a thing or two about magic.”

“What is he, then, if he’s not a fairy?” Louis asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Sea monster.”

Liam’s eyes widened so fast that Louis couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? A sea monster?” Liam asked. “I didn’t think they could… like, do much.”

Niall laughed and shook his head. “He gets that all the time. He’s not your typical sea monster. You’ll see when we meet him.”

It was a journey of a few hours, both Niall and Louis alternating riding on Liam’s back in parts. Finally, they reached the edge of a lake. Where they were at was quiet, and they were heading toward a small, run-down, cottage. Louis could also spot what looked to be the ruins of an ancient castle on an island toward the middle of the lake.

As they got closer, they spotted a tall man working in the back of the cottage. 

“Bressie!” Niall called, grinning when the man turned around to look at them. His own face lit up, and he walked over to join them.

“Well hello,” Bressie greeted them, leaning in to hug Niall before turning to look at Louis and Liam.

“You’re a sea monster?” Louis blurted out in lieu of a greeting, his eyes wide as he stared at the tall, muscular man in front of him. Next to him, Liam coughed back a startled laugh.

“Lou!” Liam scolded, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“Why do you think he’s so huge?” Niall laughed from next to Bressie, who was smirking and trying to hide his own amusement. 

Louis scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t think sea monsters were, like, able to shift or cloak or whatever it is you’re doing? I thought they were confined to the water and just, well, looked like dinosaurs.”

“That is true of most,” Bressie finally spoke up. He motioned for them to follow him into the small house. “Our history is actually a lot more complicated than anyone really realizes.” They all sat down on the plush couches (with the exception of Liam, who curled up on the floor), settling in to listen to Bressie’s story. “The term ‘sea monster’ is really a broad term. It could mean so many different things, from kelpies to serpents to the Kraken itself. Water is host to many incredible beings, some magical, some terrifying, some gentle. There’s probably some you lads have never even heard of, or thought were long gone.”

“I had to banish an Afanc from my river not long ago,” Niall piped up. “I had never seen one before, thought the handful that existed died off ages ago. Ugly feckers, those. Like a giant rabid beaver with snake teeth and a crocodile body.” He shuddered, remembering the creature that had been preying on his fey subjects.

“There’s a lot of creatures like that out there. You lads know as well as any other about hiding, but water creatures are some of the best at it,” Bressie explained. “There’s so much that is unexplored, and we have adapted better than most to hiding as well.”

“That’s great,” Louis interrupted. “But what ARE you?”

Bressie let out a loud laugh at that, shaking his head. “Impatient bugger. I’d always heard that about sirens, but never actually spoke with one before today. You birds and your shiny things.”

“At least I’m not a giant fish,” Louis pouted, his wings fluttering proudly behind him.

“Neither am I,” Bressie smirked. “’m an ancient lizard, actually.”

“Exactly how ancient?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Older than ancient,” Bressie replied, wiggling his eyebrow, delighting in the confused expression on the faces of his two visitors. “Let me start by explaining a bit more about the typical sea monsters, as most humans especially imagine them. There’s different… types, I guess is the best way of putting it. The beginning was the marine reptiles, the plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. Technically speaking, they weren’t actually dinosaurs, but that’s how most people describe them. They did evolve alongside the dinosaurs and went extinct with them. Nothing magical about them other than being bloody awesome.” He didn’t miss the exaggerated eye roll Louis did, and reached for a pillow to throw it at the siren. 

“Some of the reptiles,” Bressie continued on, “were different. They weren’t exactly magical, not in the sense like you lot. They’re just… still there. Not quite immortal, in a technical sense, because if an injury was grievous enough they could probably still die. They just don’t die of old age, and they have a high healing rate. They were able to go into hiding, almost like a hibernation of sorts, when the dinosaurs around them disappeared, waking up as the world built itself back up. They don’t really have a cloaking magic, like you,” he motioned to Louis’ wings, “it’s more… sonic and electric fields that mess with keeping humans away.”

“Is that how they’ve never found Nessie even with all the times they’ve tried to search for her?” Liam asked, eyebrow raised. 

“Well, Nessie is different. You’ve got the idea, though, when it comes to others. They can’t really communicate with anyone other than their kind. They’re monsters in the animal sense, except completely harmless to everyone except the fish they eat.”

“Why is Nessie different? And how do you fit into this?” Liam asked again, eager as always to learn. He had thought he’d known a lot about different magical creatures, but it was turning out there was a lot that he didn’t know.

“Well, around the time that these special plesiosaurs were born, there was another trio of the reptiles born. Each was born in what would become a special lake. Technically, they were all born far apart, but they are all siblings; the only three of their kind.”

“It’s pretty safe to assume that you’re one of those three, you can just say so,” Louis laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, yeah,” Bressie shook his head. “Yes, I am one of those three. Three special beings in three special lakes. Mine,” he gestured in the direction of the lake behind them, “and what became Loch Ness, and what became the Chesapeake Bay.”

“Bressie, Chessie, and Nessie?” Niall asked, unable to contain the laugh. “Original.”

“We didn’t pick the names,” Bressie protested. “Just worked out that way. Kismet, as they say.”

“So you guys are like, were-sea monsters or something?” Liam asked, sounding slightly confused.

“Not quite. Closer to shifters, I reckon, because it’s got nothing to do with lunar cycles and all of that nonsense. Like selkies, kelpies, that lot, we can change to a completely human form whenever we want. The three of us can’t leave our lakes, though.”

“What happens if you try?” Louis asked.

Bressie shuddered. “I’d rather not try and find out. It’s a strong, incredibly ancient magic pull that keeps us in our locations. I don’t know where it came from, what it is exactly. As far as I know, my sisters and I are three of the oldest sentient beings on the planet. The kind of magic that’s binding us to our homes, you don’t fuck with that. And I’ve never really wanted to, if I’m honest.”

“Really? Millions of years of you being in this very spot and you’ve never gotten sick of it?” Louis asked in surprise.

“Nope,” Bressie smiled. “Reckon I’d be lost without it, and not just because of the magic. There’s just something about it. I’ve literally watched the planet change around me, what’s another thousand years?”

“You don’t get lonely?” Liam piped up.

Bressie smiled. “Far from it. I’m lucky enough to almost always be surrounded by beings and people.”

“Do you have, like, powers?” Louis asked. “I know you said you can shift, and there’s the magic keeping you, but….”

“In a way,” Bressie said. “It’s not obvious magic, like Niall has. It’s a little more internal, intrinsic. A bit like Liam’s. It’s just such an old, unique magic that I think lies more in the lake than in me, though I can feel it in me as well. My sisters and I, we all share the similar magic. It draws all kinds to us, mostly lost souls. Physically lost, confused, or needing guidance. Sometimes just being by the lake and reflecting is good enough, and sometimes I actually speak with them.”

“Do you always appear as human? Have you… always been able to shift to human form, even before humans were around?” It was Niall’s turn to ask. He’d mostly remained silent while Bressie spoke and the other two questioned, because he’d known the jist of what Bressie was. There were some specifics that even he didn’t quite know the answer to, however.

Bressie shook his head. “Absolutely not. When humans find themselves here, of course I just seem like the hermit on the lake who offers them a spot of tea and some advice. When magical beings come to me, it all depends. This form is easiest for me, one of my favorites really. However, not all beings are comfortable with humans. I am able to take the form of whatever is most comforting to them. For example, there was a hippogriff here not long ago. She would have been skittish around human forms, even knowing that I was magical. So I shifted to a form more like hers. Made it a bit easier to communicate with her as well. 

“As for your second question,” he continued on, “No. I’ve not always been able to take that form. It’s whatever is needed at the time. I didn’t even know I could shift for a lot of years. I had no reason to for a long time. I didn’t start to take on this form until it reflected beings around me.”

“This is so crazy,” Liam said, his voice quiet and reverent, as he stared at Bressie, his eyes wide in awe. “How did my ancestors never know about you? How is it even possible that one of the wisest heroes of all time never knew about you and your sisters?”

“I never knew Chiron, but I know Nessie did. He found himself seeking her guidance a few times, actually.” Bressie couldn’t help but laugh at the stunned, betrayed, look on Liam’s face. “I’m sure he didn’t exactly go about bragging to a lot of others. It’s possible that the knowledge just got forgotten somewhere along the way. Nessie’s even more secretive than I am, especially as more and more humans try to prove her existence. She’s a bit skittish, bless her heart, so she probably asked him not to share with many others.”

They continued to talk, Bressie sharing more stories and history, for a bit, until they decided to go back outside to the lake. Once out there, they spotted a movement in the trees on the edge of the clearing. Louis’s heart sped up at the sight of the shadowy black horse that stood there, yellow eyes wild and flashing in anger. Liam pawed at the ground with one of his front hooves, curious at the strange horse. Niall and Bressie, meanwhile, both lit up at the sight of the horse.

“Out with you, then,” Niall said to the horse, raising an eyebrow. The horse shook its head, mane tossing in the air. 

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Bressie rolled his eyes, huffing at the horse. “Bad enough I’ve got a siren here, don’t need your drama, too.”

“Oi!” Louis cried, crossing his arms and ignoring the chuckle from the centaur next to him.

When the horse didn’t move, Bressie let out a sigh. He walked over to the horse, speaking with it in hushed tones.

“Do you know him?” Liam asked Niall, watching the sea monster and the spirit horse interact.

“Oh, yeah. That’s Eoghan. He’s not particularly fond of centaurs,” Niall explained.

“Neither are we,” Louis laughed, elbowing Liam. 

Liam laughed brightly, nodding his head in agreement. “Should I go over there, let him know I’m not a typical centaur?”

“Reckon Bressie’s explaining it, but we can go over.” For a few tense moments, the horse had clearly looked agitated as Bressie spoke. He’d seemed to calm down, though, so they walked over to him.

“You planning on shifting to introduce yourself proper?” Bressie was asking when the other three walked up. Eoghan lifted his head in pride, shaking his mane out around him. “Alright, then I’ll do it. This is Eoghan, he’s a pooka. Annoying trickster with a flair for dramatics. Eoghan, this is Louis and Liam.” 

They stood in silence, awkwardly looking at one another before Louis decided he’d had enough. He shrugged and turned around and walked away, over to the edge of the lake. He sat down in the grass on the edge of the lake, looking out at the expanse of crystal clear water in front of him. Louis stretched his leg forward just enough that he could drag the tip of a talon through the water. It didn’t take long for him to get lost in his thoughts.

He was startled out of his trance when he felt a large hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” Bressie asked as he carefully sat down next to Louis.

“Just lost in thought,” Louis smiled a little before turning back to look at the water. 

“Thinking about your human?” Bressie asked, his voice teasing but gentle. Louis flushed, looking down at the water. “You really like him, huh?”

“How is that even possible after only a couple of days?” Louis asked, refusing to look up at Bressie. “I barely even know anything about him.”

Bressie shrugged, shifting closer to Louis so that he could wrap an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders. Louis sighed and leaned into the larger man, feeling a cool comfort envelop him to the very tips of his wings. “That’s why humans date. They find someone they like, they get to know them and see how much they like them.”

“I know what dating is,” Louis said, rolling his eyes. He stayed silent for a moment before speaking up, voice soft. “How do I stop thinking about him?”

“Do you really want to?” Bressie asked, lowering his own voice to keep Louis calm. 

“No,” Louis admitted with a sigh. “But also yes. I can’t… Bres, I don’t know what to do. I can’t get Nick out of my head. Ed’s talking with some of his mates, see if any of them can do anything. Nobody can find Zayn, he’s locked himself up in his tower or summat. Perrie is in France, meeting with a Melusine. Harry and the merfolk are hopeless at the magical side of things. Liam and I don’t know who else we could possibly turn to.”

Bressie nodded, pulling Louis in closer. After a few moments, he spoke up, breaking the silence. “I think I know someone who might be able to help you, actually.”

“Really?” Louis asked, perking up. Was it possible they might actually have come all of this way for a reason?

“Surely you’ve heard of Circe, yes?” Louis frowned, racking his brain for why the name sounded familiar, while Bressie continued to speak, “she is a goddess of magic, and a powerful sorceress who uses potions and enchantments to trick others. She’s most known for turning enemies into animals.” Louis nodded, signaling that he knew who Bressie meant. “She hasn’t been heard from in centuries, really since the worship of her family declined. However, she had a few children. One of them is named Simon. From what I understand, he works with humans in the music industry, but he is also as powerful of a sorcerer as his mother.”

“So he might be able to help?” 

“I’m not sure, but if anyone’s going to be able to… it’s him. Especially since he works both with humans, and in music. What better person to help a siren with a human problem?” Bressie chuckled.

Louis laughed in agreement, flushing in happiness at the thought of a solution. He heard a commotion nearby, and looked across to the clearing next to the lake. Niall sat on Eoghan’s back, arms thrown up in the air and laughing as Eoghan raced alongside Liam, who was also laughing and reaching over, trying to grab at Niall. Louis’ smile widened even more at the sight of the centaur having so much fun, even if he was a little bit jealous.

“Bit weird seeing him having fun without you, hmm?” Bressie laughed, elbowing Louis lightly and nodding in Liam’s direction. “You’re quite fond of him, too, huh?” Bressie asked gently, watching the fond look on Louis’ face as he stared at Liam.

“We’ve been mates for so long, it’s like….” Louis trailed off, frowning as he tried to explain what he was feeling. “I can’t imagine myself without him, you know? I love Pez, I adore the shit out of her. She’s been by my side for a century. I can’t really imagine life without her, either, but if she found a better place, happiness somewhere? I’d be okay with it. I don’t know if I could do that with Liam.”

Bressie studied Louis’ face for a few moments before turning back to look at Liam. “Do you feel the same way about him that you do about Nick?” he finally asked.

Louis blinked, then shrugged. Truth be told, he’d never really thought about it before. In all of the traveling they were doing, though, he and Liam were definitely getting even closer. “I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about either of them. Nick, I just met. He’s… I don’t know how to explain it. He’s brilliant, new, dangerous, but joyful. Liam is my safety, my guide, my sanity.”

“Does Nick make your heart race when you think about him?” Bressie prodded, his voice gentle. Louis didn’t hesitate to nod. “And Liam?” 

Louis turned red, watching the centaur run through the field, realizing that he did. “Yeah…” he admitted, taken aback by the rush of emotions he suddenly felt toward the centaur. “What does that mean?”

Bressie tightened his arm around Louis’ shoulders, trying to comfort him. “It means whatever you are comfortable with it meaning, Louis. You don’t have to put any labels on it, or even sort it out yet. Just think about it, yeah?” 

“I can try that. Thanks, Bressie.”

“Of course, Lou. And you’re always welcome here any time you need to talk, or just need some reflecting.”

Louis looked around him, smiling a little. There was a nice aura to the lake, it did feel like a good place to sort things out. No wonder so many people, human and magical beings alike, came here. Even without Bressie there, it had that effect. Bressie himself, however, helped even more. Sort of. Confused him even more, right then… but the hugs felt nice. “Thanks, I appreciate it. I might show up here one day.”

“Good,” Bressie said, untangling himself from Louis and his wings and standing up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, it looks like I have a couple of unruly horses to calm down.” He nodded over to where Liam and Eoghan were playing. Eoghan was rolling around in a patch of dirt, and then jumping up and lifting his front legs off the ground, bouncing them a few times as an invitation for Liam to either chase him or roll in the dirt himself. They went back and forth, taunting each other. All the while, Liam was letting out loud laughs, and Eoghan loud whinnies and sounds that sounded similar to a laugh. Bressie rolled his eyes and walked over, a fond expression on his face.

Louis shook his head and laughed himself before looking down at the water, taking a few more moments to reflect on what Bressie had told him, and what it all could mean. He was startled out of his thoughts by a cry of his name, and he looked over to where the other three were playing some kind of weird chasing game. Of course, Louis couldn’t be left out of games. He jumped up and took to the air, flying over and diving toward the trio, unleashing a battle cry that was more laugh than anything else.


	3. Part Two

By the time Liam and Louis returned back to Ibiza, they felt a new sense of hope, like maybe things would work out okay in the end. Louis wished that they had time to stop in London and find this Simon, but Nick was due back on the island soon. Louis didn’t know exactly when, but he was determined to find out.

It didn’t take the two of them long to come up with a plan. That was how they suddenly found themselves sitting on the beach, with a sleeping man on the sand not far away. He’d been out for a walk when Louis spotted him and decided to take action. Years of working together playing pranks on the centaurs (and sometimes Perrie, for good measure) meant that the two friends worked seamlessly together. Louis sang a soft song nearby; the song wasn’t enough to drive the man properly insane, but rather just lull him into a complacency. Once Louis was finished, Liam came over, placing a spell over the man to coax him into a gentle sleep. He made sure the man stayed asleep while Louis looked for the man’s phone.

“How the hell do you use these things?” Louis muttered, turning it over and over in his hand before he finally wound up pushing the right button to get it to light up. And of course it was password protected.

Louis swore under his breath in Greek, looking over to Liam for help. Unfortunately, Louis’ magic was slightly limited for what he needed at that moment. He could read into people’s souls, know if they were good or what they might have done. What he couldn’t do, though, was read minds. Luckily, Liam was able to do that to an extent. 

It was easy enough to just get something as simple as a passcode that the man typed in dozens of times a day. Once Liam told Louis the numbers, he was in. He stared down in awe at all the icons on the screen. Technology was something that Louis was never particularly fond of. It felt cold, where magic felt warm. But he had to suck it up and deal with it, try and figure out what to do.

Eventually, after a few moments of muttering in very vulgar Greek under his breath, Louis discovered a place where he could type something in. He carefully typed in Nick’s name as best as he could gather it was spelled, and wound up with thousands of results of news pages. 

He had no idea what to even look for, so he called Liam over to him. Together, they looked at some of the pages, trying to figure out what they needed. 

“Didn’t he say that it was for the radio?” Liam asked after they’d somehow wound up on a clothing website. A big grin lit up Louis’ face when he saw a picture of Nick and Pig. He remembered how Nick talked about her for ages the last time they’d seen each other, and how he had shown many pictures of the dog to Louis. He didn’t quite understand the idea of naming a dog after another animals, but… human logic.

“Yes!” Louis beamed up at Liam, leaning over to press a quick kiss to the centaur’s cheek. Liam’s cheeks flushed, but he reached over Louis to click on something that looked like it might be the BBC’s radio website.

Once they were there, it didn’t take long for them to find information about the dates of the event the radio station was doing. “Success,” Liam grinned, checking the current day. It meant Nick would be there in only two days. Louis cheered. 

Liam worked the spell in reverse to slowly wake the man up, and once Liam was hidden out of the way, Louis lifted his own spell and made sure to be cloaked in his human form. 

“Excuse me, sir,” he said politely, tapping the man on the shoulder. The man turned around, still slightly disoriented. “I believe you dropped this.” Louis held out the phone to the man, slightly disappointed that there had been nothing incriminating in it that he could mess about a bit with him.

“Oh! Thank you!” the man replied. Louis nodded to him, then walked off in the direction where Liam was hiding so that they could head back out to the grove together and plan.

-

When the day came for Nick to arrive, Louis felt himself getting nervous. Would Nick even remember him? What if he was just some… distant memory, someone Nick had met on holiday and never expected to see again? He didn’t know what to think or do. He shifted to his bird form, flying in lazy circles around Liam’s head while the centaur did his best to ignore him. Every once in awhile, Louis would swoop in closer, flapping his wings in Liam’s face until the centaur paid attention to him again.

“Really, Lou, knock it off,” Liam groaned, reaching up to try and swat the falcon away. “You’ve got too much nervous energy. Let’s race.”

Louis quickly changed form mid-air, grinning at his friend. “You’re on!” He landed on the ground, stretching his wings out.

Liam carefully stood up, prancing a little in his spot. “Bring it,” he winked.

“Pez?” Louis asked, looking up where she was sitting on a branch nearby, braiding her hair. She looked down, rolling her eyes but giving them a fond smile. 

“You got it,” she flew down to stand in front of the two of them. “1, 2, 3…. GO!” she yelled, immediately ducking out of the way of the rush of feathers and hooves as Liam took off running and Louis took off in flight. They hadn’t really set a specific end for the race, they were just going for it. Instead of actually ending the race in any kind of “normal” way, Louis wound up tackling Liam and they fell to the ground together, rolling around with talons, hooves, wings, and arms flying about. Their laughter rang through the forest, loud enough that a familiar mop of brown curls popped his head up out of the water. 

“Hey!” Harry greeted them, swimming over and resting his arms on the bank of the stream.

“Harry!” Liam cheered, pushing the siren off of him and running over to go see his friend. He bent his front legs so that he could lean down to give the merman a hug. “Been ages since we’ve seen you, what have you been up to?”

Harry couldn’t hide the little smirk that formed on his face. “Met a Nereid. We traveled the Atlantic for a bit.”

Louis rolled his eyes, laughing brightly. “Leave it to you. Might not happen often, but whenever you meet someone it always seems to wind up in a whirlwind of you disappearing for a bit and then coming back to us. You know, if I were a lesser siren, I might get jealous.”

“You? Not get jealous?” Perrie snorted, throwing a flower at him.

“Never,” Louis gasped, hand over his heart.

“Remember that time that Jesy and I teamed up with Jade and Leigh-Anne in Germany?” Perrie reminded Louis. “You wouldn’t talk to me for two weeks after I came back.”

“I’m pretty sure I was busy with something,” Louis protested, frowning.

“What about when I went to visit Ed and Niall not long after you and I met?” Liam piped up. 

“Or when I stayed off the California coast, with that family of sea-centaurs, for a couple years?” Harry added, laughing to himself when Liam muttered “ _ichthyocentaurs_ ” under his breath. 

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Louis rolled his eyes, letting out a little self-deprecating laugh. 

Liam patted Louis on the back. “Our bird here is just nervous because he gets to see Nick again. He’s afraid that Nick won’t remember him.” 

Louis turned to look at Liam, frowning. First of all, he would never admit to being nervous. And second of all, how did Liam know that’s what Louis was afraid of? As far as he knew, Liam had never read his mind before. Did he? Or did he just know Louis that well. He relaxed slightly when Liam reached out to rub a comforting circle over his shoulder.

“Oooh, did you learn anything useful while you were gone?” Harry asked.

Louis sighed and shrugged. “Sort of. Not really. We did meet this fantastic being in Ireland, though. Older than anything else, Bressie is. He gave us the name of someone in London who might be able to help me.”

“You met Bressie?!” Harry asked, his voice low with awe and his eyes widening. “I’ve heard legends about him, but I never knew that he was _actually_ real.”

“Turns out he and Niall are pretty close,” Liam said, his tail swishing behind him in his excitement. “Oh, he’s incredible, Harry! We’ll need to go back to see him, you would love him.”

“Everyone would be so jealous!” Harry clapped, his tail slapping the shallow water behind him in his own excitement.

“That’s great and all,” Louis piped up from next to Liam, where he’d started a flower crown to occupy his twitching hands. “But isn’t this supposed to be ‘calm Louis down from meeting the scary human’ time?”

Liam laughed brightly, his whole face crinkling up. “Scary human? Nick is like, the least intimidating human ever. I’ve seen babies more terrifying than him.”

Louis huffed and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s scary when you might kill him accidentally,” he muttered under his breath. “Just for that,” he said to Liam, pointing a flower at him, “you cannot come with when I go to see him.”

“Hey!” Liam pouted. “That’s not fair.”

Perrie flew down closer to the three men, sitting on the other side of Liam and leaning her back against his hindquarters. “You want to see him even though you can’t actually talk to him?”

Liam shrugged, blushing slightly. “Yeah, I don’t know. I also like seeing Louis all flustered and quiet for once.”

“Oi!” Louis groaned, flicking his wingtip at Liam, who just grinned in amusement at him. “Fine, fine, you can come with me. To keep an eye on Nick.” Liam cheered, making Perrie and Harry laugh. “Now, Harry, tell me all about this Nereid of yours.”

-

The four friends talked for a while longer, until both Harry and Perrie drifted off to their respective homes. Louis turned to look at Liam, suddenly filled up with the nerves again. Chatting with his friends had been a good distraction, and had relaxed him at the time, but now he was full of that same anticipation.

“You ready to see if we can find your boy?” Liam asked gently.

“I don’t know,” Louis admitted.

Liam reached over to hug Louis, then stood up onto all four legs. “Come on, won’t know until you try.” 

Louis sighed, staying where he was for a moment before he finally stood up. “Alright, alright. Here’s hoping.” He reached for the flower crown he’d made and then jumped up onto Liam’s back. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the centaur’s torso. In only a few quick seconds, their magic combined so that Liam was in his horse glamour and Louis was cloaked. In their travels around Europe and the United Kingdom, searching for answers, Liam and Louis had nearly perfected the shifting. It had come in very handy.

Liam threw his head back, letting out a loud whinny before cantering off to the beach, the spot where Louis and Nick had met every other time. Louis grinned, fixing the crown atop the horse’s head as they went. Liam slowed to a walk when they got closer and saw a silhouette sitting on the sand, a basket next to him.

“Nick,” Louis breathed when they were close enough to make out the man’s features. Liam pranced happily, glad that the man had shown up after all. 

Nick looked up when he heard the horse approaching, and his whole face lit up. “You found me!” he exclaimed, standing up while Louis jumped down.

“You came back,” Louis replied, embracing the taller man happily. 

“Of course I did,” Nick smiled, then stepped back so he could reach down into the basket. When he stood back up, he held a few mints in his hand. “And don’t think I forgot about you, Your Highness,” he said to Liam, offering the horse the mints. 

Liam took them, munching happily, letting out happy snuffs while his tail swished behind him. He leaned forward to butt his head against Nick’s shoulder in thanks before wandering a few feet away to a patch of beach grass.

“Looks like he remembered you, too,” Louis laughed.

Nick grinned, fondly watching the horse before turning back to Louis. “Feels a bit weird to miss a horse, but reckon I did. Not quite as much as I missed you, though.”

“I was afraid you’d forget me,” Louis confessed, sitting down on the blanket that Nick had laid there.

“Forget you?” Nick scoffed, sitting down next to Louis on the blanket. He reached over, pulling out a bottle of sparkling juice and a couple of plastic cups. “I could never forget my little bird. I couldn’t shut up about you, more like.”

“Really?”

Nick nodded. “Absolutely.” He handed Louis one of the cups. “Drove my FiFi absolutely bonkers. She’s determined to meet you but… I want some time with you before anyone else.” He looked down, trying to hide the slight blush that appeared on his face.

Louis glanced over at Liam, suddenly a bit scared. Meet other people? It was one thing, being careful around Nick. But his friends, too? He took a sip of his drink, letting the bubbles wash over his tongue. “I like the idea of time with you,” he blushed as well.

“Good,” Nick smiled. “I didn’t bring food, because I wasn’t sure how long I’d be sitting here and I didn’t want it to go bad or get cold or anything. Did nab some biscuits from the hotel, though.” He reached into the basket, pulling out a stack of biscuits wrapped in a napkin.

“You…” Louis trailed off, shaking his head and laughing, taking one of the offered sweets. “You’re something else, Nicholas Grimshaw.”

“So I’ve been told!” Nick said proudly, puffing his chest out. Louis reached over and swatted at him, giggling. “What have you been up to, little bird?”

Louis glanced over at Liam, smirking a little. He couldn’t very well tell Nick exactly what he’d been doing in the time that they were apart. “Bit of exploring,” Louis shrugged. “Spending time with friends, you know.”

“Is there lots of exploring to do on the island?” Nick asked after he finished chewing on the biscuit.

“Definitely,” Louis smiled. “Lots of beaches and forests, all kinds of hidden gems that the usual tourists don’t ever come across. Maybe I can show you a few?”

“Are there any more rings, like we saw last time?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Louis shook his head. “Not on this island, no. A few places with some similar kind of… auras to them, though.”

“That would be so cool,” Nick said, his voice a bit dreamy. He pouted a moment later, though. “Unfortunately, I’m here for work, so I won’t get a ton of time to go exploring. But we’ll have to at least find some time to go back to that clearing, even if we can’t go someplace new.”

“Deal,” Louis smiled. “It’s a date.” 

Nick’s face lit up at that, and he leaned over to press a quick kiss to Louis’ cheek. Louis grilled Nick about his jobs as they ate. It seemed way too soon when they finished off the biscuits and juice between them, and Nick let out a large yawn.

“Think it’s time for you to head back,” Louis laughed. 

“Guess so,” Nick said sheepishly. He stood up and stretched, waiting for Louis to stand up before they folded up the blanket. “It was so good seeing you.”

“You, too,” Louis murmured, wrapping his arms around Nick. They embraced for a long moment, and shared a quick kiss. “You know where to come if you’re looking for me. I will either be here or not far.”

“Good,” Nick said, squeezing Louis one more time. He grabbed the last mint from the basket and went over to offer it to Liam, saying his goodbyes to the horse before walking off in the direction of the hotel he was staying at.

-

The next morning, Louis and Liam went back to the beach just in case. They knew that Nick might be busy with work, but decided to check just in case. When they discovered that the beach was empty, Louis pouted a little bit. He’d really been looking forward to spending more time with Nick. He knew, though, that Nick’s job meant a lot to him, and that always came first. 

The last thing that Louis wanted to do was just sit around in one spot waiting in hopes that Nick _might_ show up, though. It sounded awful, downright boring. Instead, he came up with a plan.

For once, he was grateful for his song. It, along with his own natural charms, allowed him to not only find out what hotel that Nick was staying at, but get the front desk at that hotel to tell him what room number. Once Louis had the room number, he slipped a note under the door, hoping that Nick would eventually find it.

_Meet me at the beach at dusk. If you can’t make it, leave a note at the owl statue downstairs._

_Lou x_

Louis closed his eyes, hoping for the best, and then left to spend the rest of the day with Liam, relaxing on the beach.

When dusk came, Louis was a bit disappointed to find that Nick wasn’t at the beach. He decided to head back into town, making Liam stay and keep an eye out if Nick just showed up late. To save time, Louis took his falcon form and flew in, diving low near the statue to see if anything was left there. There was a piece of paper there, so Louis flew a little out of the way so he could shift into his other disguise to go pick up the note with his name on it.

_Little bird,_

_I’ve got work and gigs by the station all day and late in the night. How does lunch tomorrow sound? Leave a note under my door again if that works._

_Nick xx_

Louis grinned, letting out a celebratory shout. He would get to see Nick after all! He quickly scribbled a note to Nick, agreeing on a lunch date for the next day, and then left to go see what the others were up to.

-

The next morning, Louis was a bundle of energy as he waited to meet up with Nick. This time, though, it wasn’t nerves that were the cause of excess energy: it was pure excitement.

“It’s like you didn’t just see him a couple of days ago,” Perrie laughed, rolling her eyes in an annoyed, but hopelessly fond, sort of way. It seemed to be the reaction that Louis incited the most.

“We didn’t get to spend much time together though,” Louis pouted. “And I was so nervous that he would forget me.”

“You are completely ridiculous,” Perrie smirked.

Liam reached up to tug at Louis’ wing gently when the siren bounced past. “Can I come, too?”

“You know, I’m starting to think you might fancy Nick too,” Perrie teased, tossing a piece of bread in Liam’s direction.

Liam scoffed, “he brings me mints. I like people who bring me things.”

Perrie rolled her eyes again. “Okay, I’ve had enough of you two. I’m out.” With that, she took to flight, presumably going off to find Jesy.

Louis waved her off, grinning after her before turning his attention back to the centaur. “Now, Liam. Of course you can come! I reckon Nick would be a bit upset if you didn’t show,” he waggled his eyebrows.

“You think?” Liam asked, face flushed.

“You do fancy him!” Louis gasped, standing in front of the centaur, hands on his hips.

Liam protested, but Louis continued to stare him down. Liam managed to keep his protest up for a few more moments, until Louis’ piercing gaze finally got to him. He shifted back and forth and let out a loud sigh. “Might do,” he muttered. 

“Awww, Li,” Louis cooed, wrapping his arms around the centaur and hugging him tightly. 

“Shut up,” Liam groaned, burying his face in the siren’s shoulder out of embarrassment. “He thinks I’m a horse, it doesn’t matter. I just like tagging along for the company. Both of you.”

“Even though it’s mostly just you standing around while Nick and I flirt?” Louis stepped back and asked, a bit surprised.

Liam shrugged. “You both still pay attention to me in your own ways. And it’s a good change from the forest, especially when the herd is being annoying.”

Louis thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. Then you can come every time.”

“Good!” Liam grinned, clapping his hands together. “Now, I think you should use your excess energy to make me a new crown. I ate the other one.”

“You what?!” Louis gasped, staring with wide eyes at the centaur. “Fucking horses,” he groaned rolling his eyes.

“Flowers taste nice,” Liam shrugged. “And they were starting to die.” 

“I do not make you the crowns as a snack,” Louis protested, reaching up to hit Liam over the head with a flower. “They are to make you look regal.”

“And they make me look regal until they start to die. Then I eat them,” Liam grinned widely at Louis, who huffed and went back to collecting flowers to start in on a new crown, muttering under his breath about _only two days ago really liam_ and nonsense about hungry hungry horses.

-

Making the flower crown did calm Louis down enough that he could pass the time until they were supposed to meet Nick down at the beach. He was still excited, of course, but he wasn’t an annoying bundle of energy anymore. 

“Hullo!” Nick greeted them when he got close enough. Louis grinned widely, walking closer to embrace Nick in a tight hug. Nick pressed a kiss to the top of the siren’s head before pulling away and facing Liam. “Lovely new crown,” he commented. When Liam huffed a thanks, Nick let out a loud laugh and pressed a kiss to the horse’s forehead as well. Louis could sense that if horses were able to blush, Liam would definitely be blushing at that very moment. 

“Shall we?” Louis grinned.

“Of course!” Nick agreed, carefully climbing up onto Liam’s back. He took the picnic basket from Louis and offered a hand to help him up. As soon as Louis was settled, they were on their way. “We’re not going to the usual place?” Nick asked a few minutes into the ride, when he realized that they were going in a different direction than usual.

Louis shook his head. “As special as that grove is, I’ve got another place in mind for today. It doesn’t have the same kind of vibe, but I think you will like it.”

“I trust you,” Nick smiled, looking at the scenery around them as they continued on at a rocking canter.

Eventually, Liam’s canter slowed down into a walk as they approached their destination. The roar of a small waterfall could be heard in the background, especially as they got closer. The trees around them broke into another small clearing, but in the middle of this clearing was a shallow lagoon, collecting the water from the waterfall and sparkling in the sun.

“This is incredible,” Nick gasped, looking around him and taking everything in.

Louis carefully climbed off of Liam’s back, taking the basket before helping Nick down. He grinned, watching Nick’s reaction to the area. Other than the grove and the beach, the area they were in was probably his favourite on the entire island. Very few even knew it existed; he hadn’t even known about it until Harry introduced him to it a few years prior. Even though there wasn’t much residual magic left, Louis could just imagine the pool filled with nymphs and water sprites in ages past. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Of course I do,” Nick grinned over at Louis before taking the basket from him and going to find a good place to spread out. They worked together to get the blanket laid down just far enough from the edge of the fall that they could feel a bit of the spray, but not so much that it would soak their blankets.

“This looks really good,” Louis observed happily as they started to pull out food.

Nick nodded, “It really does.” He whistled for Liam to come back over from where he’d started to wander away. “Stay close today, silly horse. Here,” he held up his hand, offering the horse one of the largest apples that Louis had ever seen.

Liam wasted no time in trotting over and biting at the apple, mouthing at it before finally taking it and starting to eat.

“That tickled,” Nick grinned, reaching up to scratch Liam behind his ear before turning his attention back to the blanket. He sat down on the blanket, giving Liam a look to make sure that he was actually staying nearby.

Louis grinned as he sat down on the blanket next to Nick. “You’ve grown rather fond of my horse, haven’t you?”

Nick shrugged. “I can’t really explain it,” he answered Louis’ question. “I just like having him nearby almost as much as I like having you nearby. It’s become a thing, just need you both nearby.”

At Nick’s words, Louis felt his heart swell in happiness. He glanced over at Liam, and could see a brightness in the horse’s eyes, showing more emotion than any horse normally had an ability to. “Good, because it seems we’ve become a bit inseparable lately.”

Nick laughed brightly at that, shaking his head fondly as he looked from the boy to the horse. “I reckon I like that. Tell me about these adventures you two have been having.”

Louis quickly launched into a modified story of the travels, making most of it up but basing most of the lies on some reality they went through. The two of them- with Liam nearby- talked and ate well into the early evening hours, until Nick had absolutely no choice but to leave. They parted with a slow kiss and Nick promising to do his best to squeeze in at least one more date before he had to leave the island.


	4. Part Three

Not long after Nick left Ibiza again, Louis found himself back in England. This time, he was in his bird form, perched on a branch with Perrie next to him. Below them, the sounds of X Factor’s boot camp were going on. He had been watching Nick for most of the day, just admiring him at work. Perrie kept flying off, huffing in boredom and disappearing for a couple of hours before winding up back at Louis’ side.

Even though they couldn’t speak to each other while in their bird forms, they were still acutely attuned to each other. Louis was very thankful for that when a lad named Jordan walked out onto the stage. The lad was sweet, a little bit shy and disgustingly adorable. Adorable, except for the fact that he was pretty blatantly flirting with Nick. And Nick was playing right into his hands, flushed and laughing while the other judges took the piss.

Louis wanted nothing more than to swoop down there and claw the eyes out of the kid. Nick was supposed to be his. Jordan was saved from this fate, however, because Perrie scooted closer to Louis. The osprey lifted her wings as if to take flight, but instead did exactly what she intended: whack the golden falcon right in the head. Louis turned his head, glaring at her. The amusement that he could see even through her bird eyes calmed him down just enough that he didn’t go through with attacking the harmless lad. Louis did have to get the last word in, though. As Jordan walked off, Louis swooped down from the branch, letting out a sharp cry before flying off, Perrie flying behind him and darting around him in a bird equivalent of laughing and calling him an idiot.

It was worth it, though, when Louis saw Nick glance behind him and catch sight of the falcon flying there. 

-

When it sounded like the performances were winding down for the night, Louis headed back out. He was determined to find a way to get Simon alone so he could talk to him. 

Still in bird form, Louis perched nearby where Simon was wrapping things up, speaking with a producer and getting things sorted. He glanced in the direction of the falcon, raising an eyebrow at the bird and sighing. He sent everyone around him off after a few more minutes, then walked over to the tree. “Let me guess, you need something from me?” he asked, arms crossed over his chest and an irritated expression on his face.

Louis flew down towards the ground, then closed his eyes so he could shift mid-air and land on his talons, standing next to the man. “I was hoping we’d be able to talk?” he asked nervously, finding himself intimidated by the man standing there.

“I suppose I can spare a few moments,” Simon said, “but cloak yourself for gods’ sakes. Do you want to be killed?”

“Not particularly,” Louis muttered, flushing in embarrassment before quickly cloaking himself. 

“Much better. Now come on, if we are going to discuss a deal, I’d prefer to go somewhere with wine. Follow me.” Without even waiting for a response from Louis, Simon strode off toward the hotel. Louis scurried after him until they arrived in an ornate office. Louis sat down while Simon poured them each a glass of wine. “Now, let me guess,” Simon said as he sat down on the other side of the desk from Louis, “you want to be able to make millions as a singer without killing your fanbase?”

Louis just blinked at Simon, tilting his head just slightly to the side, lifting his chin slightly in surprise. “Do you get that a lot?”

“Part of the territory,” Simon laughed. 

“I just want to be able to talk to a human without driving him insane,” Louis said, flushing and looking down at the desk, fingers wrapping around the stem of the wine glass. “I want to be able to have a conversation with him without constantly worrying about saying the wrong thing, ruining what we have.”

Simon nodded, leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face. He remained silent for a few minutes, sipping at his wine and studying Louis. Louis chewed on his lip, trying not to shudder with how intimidated he felt sitting across from this man. Finally, Simon spoke up. “There’s a couple of different options for you here. The first is more extreme, the second is a bit trickier.”

“What are the options?” Louis asked.

“Like I said, the first one is more extreme,” Simon began, setting down his wine glass. “I can mix a potion that will, in essence, take away your powers. You would be able to talk, sing, shout at anyone you want to without risking driving anyone to their death.” Louis raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued at this idea. “However, it’s permanent. Once you choose this option, you will never have that siren song again.”

Louis let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “You’ve actually done that for people? They’ve actually chosen to give up their song?”

Simon nodded. “There have been a few, some sirens who have felt so strongly about wanting a music career that they were willing to do it. Their voices are brilliant, and they usually have great careers, but they are often shunned by their own kind for doing it. Some manage, some are driven insane themselves. It all depends how much you love this man, how much you are willing to risk for him.”

Louis sipped his wine, digesting the words that Simon had told him. “What’s the other option?” He asked after a few seconds.

“The other option is tricky because it involves the human.”

“I am not hurting him,” Louis said quickly, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning in defiance at the demi-god in front of him.

“It wouldn’t hurt him,” Simon rolled his eyes. “Why would I tell you a solution that just harmed the reason you’re doing it?” Louis opened his mouth to protest, but Simon just continued on. “Yes, my mother had a habit of turning humans into pigs. Quite frankly, I don’t blame her. But I’ve made my living by immersing myself in human culture. I’m not going to harm them, unless they give me reason to. Which happens often, but that’s unrelated to our discussion now.”

“Alright, alright,” Louis said, flushing a bit at the scolding. 

“If it is just one specific human that you are doing this for, then I can create a potion for them. It will make this man immune to your song. However, it’s risky for a couple of different reasons. One, you have to get him to drink it, and keep finding ways to do that. Two, it’s temporary. I don’t know exactly how long it lasts, it all depends on how much he drinks and how quickly he drinks it. Usually, it lasts a few hours, but there typically isn’t any warning to when it starts to wear off.”

Louis sank back in the chair, closing his eyes and sighing. It was a better solution than anyone else had found so far, but it still wasn’t sure. “That sounds like the better option,” he said reluctantly. “But how do I sneak it to Nick each time I see him?”

“You’d have to buy him drinks each time, or distract him to pour it in his.” Louis thought briefly of Liam and Perrie and the distractions they could help him cause. But what if they didn’t have drinks?

“There is one other way, if he feels as strongly about you as you do about him, and if you trust him,” Simon said slowly. 

“What’s that?” Louis asked, perking up.

“You could tell him what you are,” Simon shrugged. “If he knows, then you won’t have to sneak him the potion, he can take it willingly. Or he can choose not to take it, and tell you when it feels a little weird. But,” Simon cautioned, “You have to be very careful if you’re telling a human about the existence of creatures like us. You have to consider how he might react, as well as who he might tell.”

Tell him. Louis took a deep breath, letting those words sink in. Just… flat out tell Nick that he was a siren? He frowned, reaching for his wine and gulping down what was left. “I already know he’s… perceptive of magic.”

“How’s that?” Simon asked, face genuinely curious.

“The first time I spoke with him, he talked about feeling like there was more. Feeling power in places,” Louis explained. “I took him to a fairy ring on the island, and he could feel the old power that it was soaked in. He couldn’t explain it, didn’t know what it meant or if he believed in creatures, but he was open to the idea.”

Simon leaned forward, elbows on the desk and chin in his hands as he considered Louis’ words. “Do you trust him not to tell anyone, if you were to tell him?”

Louis tilted his head slightly as he thought about Simon’s question. Nick certainly seemed trustworthy, but then there was his job. “I think so,” he said slowly, “but he’s on radio, so….” He trailed off, frowning.

“Wait,” Simon said, sitting up quickly. His eyes widened, and a smirk appeared over his face. “That falcon. After Jordan sang. That was you, wasn’t it?” Louis just flushed in response, looking sheepishly down at the desk. “Oh gods. I should have guessed that was a jealous siren’s call,” Simon snickered. “Our Nick is your Nick?”

“Same one,” Louis murmured, smiling a little. 

“Of course,” Simon sighed, an amused look on his face. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. Can you find an excuse to be in London next week?”

Louis shrugged. “I’m sure I can come up with something, maybe say I‘m visiting a relative. All he knows about my sisters is that they’re hunters and I moved away.”

“Hunters, huh?” Simon laughed, and Louis smirked with a shrug. “Good cover. Okay. Get to London next week, I’ll arrange a meeting about the six chair challenge with him during that time. I’ll give Nick some of the potion. Before you decide whether or not to tell him, I want to see him with you. I want to make sure he cares for you as deeply as you do for him. If I think you should tell him, then we can talk about it.”

“Why is it your decision whether I tell him or not? It’s my life, my relationship,” Louis protested, frowning a bit.

“Because,” Simon replied, “I’ve literally invested in him for the show. And because, gods help me, I’ve grown a bit fond of him.”

Louis thought over Simon’s words, then nodded. “Okay. I can do that. What is the price of the potions?”

Simon studied Louis, considering. “It all depends on how much I like the person, and what I might need from them. You see, I didn’t get this far without being a shrewd businessman. I like you, though, Louis,” Simon admitted. He paused again, considering what payment he might need from the siren. “Come back to me in a week’s time, I will have the potion ready and have the meeting set up with Nick. What I need from you is simple. Toadstools from this fairy circle you spoke of, if it is indeed so powerful. The feather of a harpy, fresh from the wing and not just a fallen, dead one. Lastly, a stone from a magical lake, preferably one large enough that I can break it down into smaller stones. Bring me these things, and I will give you some potions and bless your relationship with Nicholas.”

Louis heaved a huge sigh of relief. He wondered if Simon knew more about him than the demi-god let on, to know that those three things were not only easy for him to find, but important to him as well. “I can do that,” Louis agreed, holding out his hand for Simon to take. They shook on the deal, and then Simon stood up.

“Pleasure doing business with you, siren. Now, please leave. I have to go back down to meet with Rita and Cheryl to make the picks for the six chair challenge.”

Louis stood up, thanking Simon once again and heading out the door, a pleased smile on his face. Maybe things would work out after all.


	5. Part Four

A week later, Louis found himself standing outside of the BBC Radio 1 building. He glanced anxiously around him, quickly becoming overwhelmed with all of the humans surrounding him. Just when he started to become a little panicked, he spotted Nick walking out with Simon. Even just seeing Nick was enough to relax Louis. He walked closer, fighting back a laugh when he noticed the moment that Nick saw him.

Nick stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and jaw dropping. “Lou?” He whispered in shock, dropping his cup of coffee to the ground.

“Hi,” Louis said shyly, walking over to Nick. 

“What are you doing here?” Nick asked. He opened his arms, wrapping them tightly around Louis. “It’s so good to see you.”

Louis flushed in happiness, burrowing happily into the man’s arms. He caught Simon’s eye and saw the amused smirk there. “Was visiting some family, thought I’d surprise you before heading back to Spain.”

“Oh, this is the best surprise,” Nick grinned. He suddenly remembered that his boss was standing next to him. “Oops, Simon, this is Louis. Louis, this is my boss, Simon.”

Louis nodded to Simon, who nodded back to him. Nick didn’t need to know that the two of them had already met up the day before to exchange goods and discuss the meeting. “I was going to suggest lunch, perhaps your friend could join us?” Simon said.

“That would be lovely,” Louis agreed. “I have a few hours until my flight back.”

“Only a few hours?” Nick pouted.

Louis nodded. As much as he would have enjoyed spending days with Nick, he was just too overwhelmed by being in London. There were too many people and there was too much unknown around him; it had him on edge and shaky, especially without Liam there to calm him. “Yes, I think Liam misses me too much if I’m gone for too long,” he grinned.

“What good is a king without his prince?” Nick winked, making Louis flush. 

“Alright, enough with the flirting,” Simon rolled his eyes, leading the pair to the car that was waiting to take them to lunch. “I’d like to get through my meal.”

“Grandpa ruining everything,” Nick sighed, shaking his head dramatically. Louis tried his best to hold back the snicker, not wanting to anger Simon too much. The demi-god was intimidating at best, but downright terrifying at times because of the power he held. Especially over Louis’ relationship with Nick. The man was powerful enough that Louis wouldn’t be surprised if he had some way of keeping them apart through magic. He was not about to test it.

“Watch it, Grimshaw,” Simon said after climbing in, giving a stern look to Nick. “I’ll bring Louis Walsh back to replace you if you’re not careful.”

Nick just waved it off, sitting down and pulling Louis in next to him. “You would never.” 

Louis expected Simon to get angry, but instead he just rolled his eyes and stayed quiet. It seemed even he was charmed by Nick. That helped Louis relax, which made the rest of the lunch easier.

Most of the meal passed with some general small talk, though Nick and Simon did discuss the show a lot. Louis stayed quiet during that discussion, but he paid close attention. There were so many different sides of Nick, and it fascinated Louis. His whole face lit up and he got animated when he spoke of a contestant that he was passionate about, either in a positive or negative way. When it came to business discussions regarding the show, he managed to tone everything down and focus as much as he could. He could be loud and snarky and teasing, but he could also be soft and gentle. 

Louis was getting anxious being in one place, with so many other people, for so long. He began to get a bit fidgety, his eyes darting all over the restaurant. He relaxed, however, when Nick placed his hand over Louis’, squeezing it gently. 

“Looks like my little bird is itching to be out of here,” Nick laughed gently, scratching his nails gently over Louis’ knuckles. “I’m going to go use the loo then we can be on our way.” He stood up, messing with Louis’ hair before walking toward the loo.

“Little bird?” Simon asked, eyebrow raised.

“That’s his nickname for me,” Louis shrugged, flushing as he looked down at the table. “Says I remind him of a bird.”

“Wonder why,” Simon shook his head. “He does seem to care about you, and even sort of… sense something is special about you.”

“You think?” Louis asked, picking at the napkin that was on the table in front of him.

Simon nodded. “Just the way he looks at you. There’s so much wonder. He’s in awe of you, but also knows that you’re hiding something. He’s just… curious, though, not suspicious.”

“You can pick all of that up just by watching us at lunch?” Louis asked, eyebrow raised in surprise.

“Yes. Well, and a little bit of reading his mind,” Simon shrugged. “Mostly, it’s pretty clear on his face, though.” Louis flushed, smiling happily at that. “You obviously have my blessing. And I think it’d be worth telling him. I think he’d be receptive to it.”

“Receptive to what?” Nick asked when he walked back over, standing at the end of the table.

“Taking Louis to get some ice cream from that place that Cheryl was telling us about,” Simon said, standing up. 

“I can do that.” Nick agreed.

Louis was a little hesitant about the idea for a moment. He was slightly scared at the thought of being inside for even longer, surrounded by more strangers when he was already on edge. However, the look on Nick’s face was so earnest and hopeful that Louis had to say yes.

The shop that Nick led Louis to wasn’t far from the restaurant. It was small and cramped, and immediately Louis tensed up and wanted to be out of there. Nick must have sensed Louis’ discomfort, though, because as soon as they ordered their gelato he suggested they take it and go on a walk while eating it. As soon as they were out of the shop, Louis felt like he could breathe again.

“So is that why we pretty much always meet on the beach?” Nick asked after taking a taste of his treat.

“What do you mean?” Louis responded, looking hesitantly down at the bowl of gelato in his hand. It was something that he’d never tried before. 

“It’s like… you don’t like being enclosed. Is it claustrophobia? You were really anxious by the end of lunch and looked downright terrified just now,” Nick explained.

Louis shrugged. “I guess it is like that? I just… don’t really like it much. I don’t like being around a lot of people.”

“Then I feel incredibly honoured that you enjoy my presence so much,” Nick teased, trying to get a smile out of Louis.

“I don’t know why,” Louis muttered, but there was an amused little smirk on his face. 

“Oi!” Nick laughed, bumping his hip against Louis. 

Louis just grinned at him before finally picking up the small spoon so he could taste the gelato. His eyes widened as soon as the first taste, and the first sensation, hit his tongue. He’d never experienced anything quite like it before, and it was brilliant! “This is amazing,” he gasped, taking another big bite and then wincing when the sudden cold rushed to his head.

“I’m glad you like it,” Nick grinned. 

“Like it?! It might be one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth!” Louis exclaimed. Nick snorted at that, which made Louis give the human a confused look until he realised what he’d said. He turned bright red, giggling a little.

Once their laughter subsided, they continued on, sharing stories of what had happened since they’d last seen each other. The tension that he had felt earlier was gone again, rolling off Louis’ shoulders with each laugh he and Nick shared. It was comforting and calming being in Nick’s presence, much like it was when he was with Liam.

“Do you have to go, my beautiful little bird?” Nick pouted when they finished their gelato and started heading back to a main street. “It feels like you just got here.”

“I know,” Louis smiled sadly. “But I need to get back, there are things for me to do on the island.”

“Liam needs you to help run his kingdom?” Nick smiled fondly, especially when Louis nodded. I’m going to miss you so much, but I am glad that you stopped to see me at all.”

Louis turned around to hug Nick tightly. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I’ve missed you, I had to see you. You’re kind of special to me, Grimshaw.”

“And you are just as special to me, Tomlinson,” Nick beamed and hugged Louis back. 

“Visit me when you can?” Louis asked once he pulled away from the embrace.

“Of course,” Nick reassured Louis. “The second I can spare a couple of days, I will be there. Now go on, before you miss your flight.”

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Louis smiled, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Nick’s cheek before turning and walking away. He had to just keep walking, because he knew that if he turned back around, something in him would just decide to stay instead. He just had to hope that Nick would visit sooner rather than later.


	6. Part Five

It’s another few weeks before Nick can spare some time to fly out to Ibiza again, but when he does, Louis is waiting for him. He’d decided that he was ready to tell Nick about him, but he couldn’t figure out how. 

“What should I do, Liam?” he asked, sprawling out on his back in the tall grass of the infamous clearing. “Do I just walk up to him and say ‘oh hi, Nick, nice to see you, by the way, I’m actually a siren’?”

Liam laughed, walking over next to Louis. He carefully laid down, folding his long legs underneath him so that he could reach over to run his hands soothingly over Louis’ golden and chestnut wings. “These are new,” he noticed, brushing his fingers over some deep brown feathers.

“Perrie used her magic to color them for me,” Louis blushed. “They, uh, remind me of Nick’s eyes.”

“Oh! You are so soppy!” Liam crowed, clapping. 

“Shut up,” Louis muttered. “They look like yours, too.”

It was Liam’s turn to blush at that, and he looked down for a moment before looking back up at Louis. “Dunno, that might scare him away if you just come out with it like that.”

They remained silent for a few seconds, trying to come up with some ideas on how they could tell Nick without completely overwhelming him. “He did say he thought something, or someone, saved him that night,” Louis said slowly.

“We could see if Harry will hang out on a rock or something?” Liam suggested. “Then he’ll see for himself that there’s a merman on the rock, and make the connection himself?”

Louis nodded slowly, then grinned. “The one out in the sea. Where he thought he saw Harry first. We get him to see Haz there, then he’ll be wondering. Then maybe he can catch a glimpse of you?”

Liam frowned, working on trying to get a dead feather out of Louis’ wing. “Might work. Just walking in the shadows?” Louis nodded. “But then what, are you going to drop the bomb on him?”

Louis shook his head. “No, I think that would overwhelm him. I just want to judge his reaction, see what he says about it. Then maybe the next day I can bring him out here, and he can meet one or two of us in our actual forms.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Liam said slowly, digesting it all. He nodded after a moment. “Yes, that’ll work. That way if he seems to be weirded out by it, you can make some excuses and just drop it.”

“Brilliant,” Louis grinned. “Now. Tell me a story while we wait for him.”

Liam laughed, and proceeded to launch into a story about one of Niall’s parties that he had been to.

A few hours later, Louis was waiting anxiously on the beach for Nick to show up. Harry was already nearby, hanging out near the beach and ready for Louis’ signal to hang out on the rock until Nick noticed him. Liam was also nearby, in the shadows on the edge of the beach, waiting for his own signal from Louis. Truthfully, Louis had no idea how it would all go. Nick might be cool with it and curious, or he might think he was going mad, or that Louis was playing a trick on him.

Louis had thought of every different scenario under the sun, much like when he’d been waiting for Nick to return the first time and had convinced himself that Nick had forgotten him. He’d been wrong then, though, so he was hoping for the same outcome this time.

Finally, he spotted Nick. He ran over, leaping into the man’s arms, who fumbled but gathered him up for a hug.

“Well, hello to you too,” Nick laughed, hugging Louis tightly and kissing his cheek before setting him down.

“Missed you,” Louis mumbled into Nick’s chest, nuzzling his face into the hair there and letting out a happy sigh.

“Missed you, too,” Nick smiled, running his hand through Louis’ hair. They remained that way for nearly a minute, neither of them speaking. It had been awhile since they were able to see each other. Nick had been busy with both the radio and X factor, and Louis felt uneasy being in London and wanted to avoid it. Thankfully, Nick had found a few days off after filming judges’ houses so that he could visit Louis. 

“How’s the show going?” Louis asked, taking Nick’s hand and starting to walk down the beach, towards Harry’s rock. Louis listened as Nick told him everything that had happened with his contestants, even though Louis didn’t really understand the process. He was still fascinated by everything Nick told him, drinking it all in. As they walked, and Nick talked, Louis whistled sharply in the back of his throat. 

Thankfully, with the help of his siren’s magic, he was able to throw the sound just enough so that Nick wouldn’t realize it came from his mouth. “That sounded like one big bird,” Nick observed, looking out at the sea. 

Louis could tell the exact moment that Nick noticed Harry, who was currently sprawled out on the rock, soaking in the moonshine, tail in the air. He couldn’t be out of the water completely like that for too long, but they’d decided that it was important that Nick see everything. And Nick did. He stopped, tensing his shoulders. “Wh….” He started to say, then blinked as if he didn’t believe his eyes. 

Louis quickly gave Harry another signal, the one to make the graceful leap back into the water. Just as Nick was opening his eyes, the last of Harry slipped underwater. 

“Did you see that?” He asked Louis slowly, still standing in the same spot and visibly shaken up.

“’m not sure,” Louis said slowly, trying to act like he was just as surprised as Nick.

“That was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” Nick shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. He continued walking, grasping Louis’ hands. “I could have sworn I saw a merman or something,” he chuckled, but it wasn’t exactly his usual amused laugh. Instead, it was a bit nervous, and a bit deprecating, like he wasn’t sure if he had actually seen it, or if he was losing his mind.

“Really?” Louis prodded gently, trying to gauge Nick’s reaction, but it was hard beyond the initial shock of it.

Nick nodded, then shook his head in confusion. “That can’t be, though. Right? Like. That kind of thing… isn’t real.”

Louis shrugged. “Sometimes I wonder,” was all he said, hoping that would get the kind of answers and reactions he wanted to see from Nick. 

Nick stared at Louis for a few moments, and it was like Louis could nearly see gears turning behind his eyes as he tried to process what he’d just seen and what Louis had just said. “You think?” He asked slowly. It wasn’t an outright agreement, but it wasn’t an outright denial, either. Good. That was good.

“Some places are just too… old, too mystical, to not have secrets. I don’t know what, but sometimes it just feels like… there’s something else there, you know?” Louis asked, tilting his head a little bit to the side and sticking his chin out just slightly.

“God,” Nick laughed, startling both of them. “Some of your mannerisms are so much like a bird, I’d almost swear you were half-bird.”

Well, Louis couldn’t help but beam at that. “Maybe I am,” he teased, trying to sound joking, but mostly just sounding especially proud.

“Be pretty wicked, I reckon,” Nick laughed, squeezing Louis’ hands. “Especially if you had wings. Just think how easy it would be for you to fly over to see me, instead of playing guessing games of when we’ll see each other on the beach.”

Louis felt his heart swell at that. There was something so incredible about not just hearing Nick talking about how cool it would be if Louis had wings, but also that he’d want it so that Louis could come visit more. “So you’d still like me, huh?” he laughed.

“Might like you even more,” Nick teased, and Louis elbowed him in the side but laughed. 

“Not sure if I like you enough to do something about getting wings,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Nick.

“Oi! Blasphemy!” Nick laughed, reaching for the spot on Louis’ side just above his hip, the spot that was especially ticklish.

Louis yelped and managed to squirm away, laughing as he ran down the beach.

“Excuse me, I don’t run!” Nick yelled, but still chased after Louis, laughing loudly.

Louis just laughed louder and continued running in the direction where Liam was hiding. He pretended to trip on a rock, tumbling to the sand and causing Nick to trip over him and land on the sand as well. They lay together, laughing and catching their breath, before Louis threw the same signal for Liam, this time making it sound like it came from the forest.

Nick couldn’t help but turn around to look in the direction of the sound. When he did, he noticed the centaur walking through the shadows. Liam was a distance down, but close enough that Nick could definitely tell what he was. “What…” Nick said slowly, all laughter dying on his lips. 

Louis sat up, looking in the direction of where Liam was cautiously walking out toward the water. “Woah,” Louis said, sitting up. 

Nick sat up next to Louis, staring at the centaur, who turned around and started to walk back into the forest. Though Louis hadn’t a clue how Nick might react to seeing Liam, he certainly didn’t expect the reaction he got. “Is that… Liam?” Nick asked, brow furrowed.

“What?!” Louis sputtered in surprise, eyebrows flying up as he turned and stared with wide eyes at the man next to him. How the hell did Nick manage to recognize Liam?

Nick stared at Louis, looking at him like he was crazy for _not_ recognizing Liam. He then turned back to the centaur, pointing at his hindquarters. “Your horse. He’s got that same marking, slightly darker patch of hair.”

“Matches the birthmark on his neck,” Louis said before he could stop himself. His hand flew up to cover his mouth, but it was too late.

“A-ha!” Nick crowed triumphantly, pointing at Louis. “So it is Liam. And you did know he was half-human!” 

“Guilty,” Louis muttered, crossing his arms defensively over his chest and motioning for Liam to come over. He might as well properly introduce himself now that Nick had sussed him out.

“So this really is all real?” Nick asked, his voice low and in awe as Liam got closer and Nick could really take in the sight of him. “That night, when I said I thought I saw something… I really did?”

“You did,” Louis murmured, “Same one. Harry.” 

There was a commotion from the water, and all of a sudden, Harry’s head popped up from the water. “Nice to meet you!” he greeted Nick, who was blinking in shock.

“What about you,” Nick asked after he waved to Harry. “Are you… something, too?”

Louis took a deep breath. He hadn’t been planning on revealing himself to Nick like this that night. He had been expecting to ease the man into it, have him come to terms with magic existing, and then when he was sure Nick was okay with it, then he’d reveal who he really was. But Nick had made all of those plans complicated by recognizing Liam almost immediately. He glanced over to Harry, who was nodding in encouragement. He felt Liam’s hand on his shoulder suddenly, also encouraging him. “Yes,” Louis said. He stood up and closed his eyes, letting his cloak drop. He stood in front of Nick, wings spread behind him and talons digging into the sand. He was afraid to open his eyes to see Nick’s reaction.

“My little bird isn’t so little,” Nick gasped.

“More like Big Bird!” Harry piped up.

All three of the others stopped for a moment before bursting out into startled laughter, effectively breaking the tension. Louis opened his eyes, looking nervously down at Nick. Nick remained sitting on the sand, his eyes wide as he stared at Louis. “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured and scrambled up to his feet. “Can I…” he motioned to Louis’ wings. 

Louis nodded, and Nick reached up with a tentative hand to run his fingers over the feathers. Louis couldn’t help but shudder. “You’re not mad that we kept this from you?”

Nick shook his head, continuing to brush his fingers over the wing. “How could I be? I don’t know how I would have reacted if you’d just walked up to me with your wings on full display.”

“Guys, we should probably head into the forest,” Liam said suddenly, glancing anxiously down the beach, where a group of humans was gathering. Harry nodded to them in goodbye before diving under the water.

“Come on,” Louis said, a slight anxiety to his voice as well as the humans got closer. He grabbed Nick’s hand and helped him up onto Liam’s back. Louis got behind him, wrapping his arms around Nick’s waist just as Liam took off, cantering toward the forest. As soon as they were in the shelter of the trees, he slowed to a walk, finally coming to a stop when they approached a clearing. It wasn’t their usual clearing, but the way the setting sun flooded and reflected through the trees still felt powerful.

“What was that all about?” Nick asked once he and Louis got down from Liam’s back.

“We can’t let humans see us,” Liam explained. “There were some setting up for a bonfire not far away from where we were.”

“How come I could see you, looking, like… normal?” Nick asked.

Louis rolled his eyes at the word “normal”, but let it slide for the moment. The whole world of magic was new to him, after all. “Liam and I are able to use magic to kind of, hide ourselves I guess. It’s a relatively quick and easy thing for me, but it’s a bit more complicated for Liam. We’re good at it, but not good enough to do it that quickly. Plus, we’d rather stay in these forms.”

“I like these forms better,” Nick admitted, making both Liam and Louis beam in happiness. He then turned to Liam. “Are you actually some king of the forest, like I’ve been calling you?”

Liam laughed, a big, excited laugh that made his eyes crinkle. The very laugh that made Louis feel so very warm. “Unofficially, I guess?”

“ _I_ think he is,” Louis grinned. “And that’s why I make him the crowns. He mostly just keeps the other centaurs in line. They’re pretty nasty creatures if left to their own devices.”

“What makes you different?” Nick asked, looking genuinely curious. That made Louis feel even more relaxed. It would have been one thing if Nick had just accepted them, but still kept his distance. The fact that not only was Nick impressed by them, but actually wanted to learn all about them, just made Louis very happy.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Liam explained. “But it’s because of my bloodline and ancestry. Do you know anything about mythology?”

Nick shook his head with a sheepish grin. “I was rubbish in school and I don’t read much outside of gossip sites.”

“Of course,” Louis rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. 

“I won’t bore you with a history lesson, then,” Liam chuckled. “Basically, he was just a little different, a guide to some heroes and not mindlessly violent like your typical centaur.”

“Nice,” Nick said, nodding his head in awe. “What about you?” he asked, turning to Louis. “I know you’ve got the wings and talons and shit, but do you have, like….” He trailed off, not knowing what exactly to call it.

“A species?” Louis laughed, and Nick nodded. “I’m a siren.”

At that, Nick frowned, tilting his head slightly. “I thought sirens were mermaids.”

“Common misunderstanding,” Louis shrugged. “Mermaids came from sirens. I won’t bore you with the history, either. True sirens are like me, bird-like.”

“So you could kill me?” Nick asked slowly.

“Thought you didn’t know your mythology,” Louis teased, laughing when Nick elbowed him. “Yes,” he got serious. “Yes I could. Kill you, drive you insane, there are a few things I can do to humans. I don’t really… like to, much? That’s why I get nervous talking to humans.”

Realization dawned on Nick’s face. “That’s what you meant when you told me that you don’t like what your family does. When you said they’re hunters. They hunt _people?_ ”

Louis shifted nervously from one talon to the other. “Basically, yeah.”

Suddenly, Nick looked scared, which made Louis’ stomach sink. That was exactly what he was afraid of, that fear. It was why he hadn’t wanted to tell Nick. “Have you… killed anyone?” Nick asked, voice low and a little shaky.

Louis sighed. He knew that he had to be honest with Nick, if he wanted any of this to work. If there was anything to _make_ work, that is. “I’ve driven a few people mad, made them jump into the sea, or crashed their ships, that kind of thing.” When Nick started to react, Louis held up his hand so that he could continue. “Only ones who deserved it. Murderers, rapists. Men who would have gotten away with it if I hadn’t done it, who had plans to hurt others. I would never hurt an innocent.”

“Neither would I,” Liam put in, also wanting to reassure Nick. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt it was needed. “The other centaurs on this island, they would. They were vicious to tourists before I took charge. No creature on this island is to harm a human, except in extreme circumstances. Any who go against this answer to me.”

Both Nick and Louis stared at Liam in awe, the power of his words hitting them both. Even Louis, who knew of the power that Liam held on the island, was taken aback and impressed. He had never actually seen this Liam in action. “That’s why I call you the king of the forest,” he smiled softly at Liam, who flushed and dug at the ground with his front right hoof.

Nick nodded slowly, taking everything in and trying to come to terms with everything that he was learning. “What about that merman?” He asked.

“Haz?” Louis laughed. “Oh, he’s harmless. Most he would do is steal some trinkets from you. In fact,” he smiled slowly, “he’s the one who saved your life.”

Nick blinked at that. “I thought you did.”

“In a way,” Louis shrugged. “I ran and got you help. Harry found you in the water, though, and he brought you to me and Perrie, hoping that we would be able to figure out how to help you.”

“I owe you all then,” Nick murmured. 

“Liam!” came a panicked voice from the trees suddenly. All three of them looked up to see Perrie flying in, struggling. She was flying at an awkward angle, one of her wings clearly injured. She landed hard on the ground, panting for breath as Louis immediately ran over to look at her wing.

“Perrie, what’s wrong?” Liam asked, rushing over to take her hand and keep her steady on her feet.

“The centaurs,” she said, through gasps of breath. “They found a lost human, they’re circling her. They haven’t moved in yet, but I think they might. When I flew away to warn you, one of them clipped my wing with an arrow, probably hoping to take me down to stop me.”

“Fuck,” Liam swore, angrily rearing up and stomping his hooves down. He turned to Nick, looking from him to Louis. “I’m sorry to run, but-“

“Go, get out of here, save that girl,” Nick interrupted, “please.”

Liam nodded. He leaned in to press a quick kiss to Perrie’s cheek before racing off, hoping to get to the centaurs before they acted.

“Um,” Perrie said, suddenly noticing that Nick was standing there.

“Hiya,” Nick waved, sheepish smile on his face.

Louis just ignored the staring contest the two were currently having so he could concentrate on Perrie’s wing. He ran his hands up and down it until he found the injured spot. Once he did, he sang in a soft, gentle, voice, mending the damage and soothing away the pain. As he sang, Perrie’s face went slack for a brief moment before the color came back and she let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” she murmured, leaning forward to wrap her arms around Louis. He hugged her back and pressed a kiss to her forehead before stepping away.

“What did you just do?” Nick asked, curious and concerned expression on his face.

“I sang a song of healing to Pez’s wing,” Louis explained. “She’s perfectly healed up and the pain is gone, so it’ll work just fine again.”

“Wow,” Nick said in a low voice, shaking his head.

“And I am grateful for that,” Perrie smiled brightly at Louis. “I’m gonna go back and see if Liam needs any help.”

“Of course, go on, love. We’ll catch up later.” Perrie nodded a goodbye and then lifted into the air, flying off in the direction Liam had run off in. “That was Perrie,” Louis grinned after she was gone.

“I gathered,” Nick laughed. “I met her before, didn’t I?”

Louis nodded. “Very briefly.”

“Is she a siren too?” Nick asked.

“No,” Louis shook his head, “She is a harpy. And before you ask, harpies only kill those who have dark souls.” Nick nodded slowly, and the look on his face made Louis’ heart swell. He looked so overwhelmed, so shocked, and yet so amazed at the same time. “This has been a lot to take in.”

“No shit,” Nick laughed, shaking his head. “Do you need to go help your friends?”

Louis frowned, looking from Nick into the forest. He should, but at the same time… he didn’t want to leave Nick. “Go on,” Nick smiled. “I’ll come back in the morning and bring some breakfast.”

“I’d like that,” Louis smiled, stepping closer to Nick. He embraced the man, arms and wings wrapping around him. 

“Definitely like you even better now,” Nick murmured into Louis’ hair as they hugged. Louis laughed, pinching Nick’s side. 

“See you in the morning,” Louis laughed, giving Nick a quick kiss before lifting up into the air and flying off, leaving Nick to walk back to his hotel.

-

The next morning, Nick was true to his word when he showed up at their spot on the beach with a picnic basket over his arm. However, this time he brought enough food for three. “I’m assuming you can actually eat regular food now that you don’t have to be disguised?” he asked Liam once they arrived in the woods and spread everything out.

Liam flushed, incredibly grateful for the offering. They hadn’t known what to expect, or if both of them should even come. Liam had tried to argue that just Louis should, but Louis made the point that Nick had been there for every one of their meetings thus far (with the exception of lunch in London with Simon). Plus, Louis argued, Liam was older and wiser and knew the island better, and might be able to answer questions better. If it got awkward, Liam could just leave. “I can, it’s very rare that I actually get to.”

“You don’t bring him food?” Nick scolded, shaking his head in disappointment.

“I do sometimes!” Louis protested. “If Perrie sneaks me some, then I usually save some for Liam. Perrie tries to spoil me.”

“So she’s like your dealer, huh?” Nick smirked, then laughed at the confused expression on the faces of the other two. “Drug dealer. She gets you the good stuff.”

“Oh!” Louis laughed. “Yes! Harpies are notorious thieves. They love to swoop in when you humans aren’t looking and grab some food. She brings me things all the time. We still haven’t figured out how to sneak out some paella without anyone noticing.”

“That’s why you got so excited when I brought some that day,” Nick laughed. He opened a thermos, pouring the hot tea into three small cups.

When Louis realized what it was that Nick was offering him, his whole face lit up, which made Liam laugh and shake his head fondly. “Oh, now you’ve gone and done it, Nick. You are never getting rid of him now.”

“Because I brought him tea?” Nick asked, watching Louis with a fond, if slightly confused, expression.

“Yep,” Liam agreed. “We don’t really have it much, can’t really. Louis’ proper obsessed, though, especially after we went to Ireland and stayed with a friend of mine for a bit.”

Nick got a thoughtful expression on his face. “I can bring you some tea. Do you stay anywhere? Have a way to heat up tea? I don’t even know where you live,” Nick said, as if suddenly realizing that fact.

Louis nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah, there’s a cave not far down the beach from our spot that I stay in. ‘ve got a fire in there I can light, that’s how I cook my food.”

“You cook your food?” Nick asked, impressed.

Louis shrugged. “Like I said, Perrie spoils me. I’ve gotten so used to eating human treats that I can’t stomach eating the raw fish that I catch when I’m a falcon, so I cook it over a fire.”

“You’re a falcon, too?!” Nick continued to ask questions, his eyes wide.

“Sure am,” Louis grinned. “I can take the form of a falcon if I want, a bit like how Liam can take the form of a horse. It’s convenient for getting around the island or for traveling, if I don’t have a giant horse with me at the time.”

“I tried to tell you we could travel in our animal forms,” Liam protested with a long sigh. “You could have avoided being stuck on ships and flown, and I would have traveled across the water like I always have in the past, with the help of sea creatures. But nooooo.”

“It would have been far too complicated and annoying,” Louis argued, which set off some light bickering between the two. Nick just watched fondly, shaking his head in amusement. He’d missed Louis before he got to the island, and a part of him had even missed Liam the horse in a strange way. But seeing this Liam, the real Liam, made him even happier. There was something special about the bond that the two of them had.

“You two are something else,” Nick laughed, shaking his head in amusement. Louis beamed up at Nick, leaning into him. “I can’t believe this is… wow,” he shook his head. “This is all really real. I feel like I’m at a loss for words for the first time in my life.”

“Now that,” Louis grinned, waggling his eyebrows, “is hard to believe.”

Nick rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but laugh brightly. “I mean, it’s not often I find myself having lunch with a siren and a centaur. I think that gives me a bit of an excuse.”

Louis frowned, like he was pondering whether to excuse Nick or not. Liam snickered and elbowed Louis. “Now, now, this is supposed to be a nice breakfast. Don’t pick on the guy.” Louis grumbled under his breath, and Nick beamed like he thought that Liam was the nicest person he’d ever met. Then Liam continued. “After all, it’s not _his_ fault that he’s a _human_.” 

Nick sputtered, letting out an indignant yelp. “Hey!” He pouted, reaching for a pastry and tossing it at Liam’s head. 

“Oh god,” Louis laughed, falling back and rolling around in laughter. While he had loved time with Nick, every moment feeling special, there was just something that felt right about Liam being there and being able to bounce off the both of them.


	7. Epilogue

  
  


When Nick walked back into the rehearsal room at X Factor, he found himself suddenly in the middle of a staring contest between Louis and Seann. Louis was giving Seann a weird look, while Seann just raised an eyebrow to challenge the siren. 

“You know,” Nick sighed, going to stand next to Louis, “it’s not polite to stare. Or judge people.” 

“’m not judging,” Louis said after a tense moment of silence. “He’s,” Louis frowned, trying to find the right word, “weird.”

“Oi!” Nick yelled, swatting at the back of Louis’ head. 

“No I mean, like. Magical. Weird because I’ve never seen anyone like him,” Louis explained, face flushing in embarrassment. 

It was Seann’s turn to look shocked at how easily Louis talked about magic in front of Nick, which caused the human to smirk a bit. He was still getting used to the idea of magical and mythical beings being real, but it was nice to not have that world hidden from him. It also didn’t entirely shock him that there was something magical about Seann. He watched as Louis stepped closer to Seann, inspecting him with a confused frown. “Alright, Seann, explain before my little bird starts pecking at you.” Nick laughed brightly at the glaring that he got from Lou.

“How much do you know?” Seann asked, looking back and forth between Nick and Louis.

Nick shrugged. “Not much, just what Louis’ told me. I know he’s a siren, he fancies a pretty fit centaur,” Louis flushed at that, but didn’t interrupt, “and that he could kill me if we’re not careful. I know that he’s friends with a harpy, a merman, a leprechaun, and um… a sea monster?” Nick turned to look at Louis for clarification.

“Long story, about the sea monster,” Louis laughed, noting Seann’s stunned look. “And love, you forgot the fairy king.”

“Of course you’re friends with the fairy king,” Nick sighed, rolling his eyes fondly. “Lou hasn’t really, like, given me a history lesson or summat. So I don’t know what all is out there, just know it’s out there.”

“Don’t want to overwhelm him,” Louis explained, sneaking his hand up to mess with Nick’s quiff and ignoring the glare he got in return.

Seann nodded. He shifted to sit on top of the table, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees so he could lean forward and study Louis for a moment. Louis stared Seann down for a few more moments, then relaxed his shoulders. A small, thankful, smile came over his features as he dropped his cloak, wings spread out behind him. Nick beamed and leaned into Louis, letting out a happy purring sound when Louis wrapped his wing around Nick. Seeing Louis let down his guard caused Seann to relax as well, and he began his story. “I’m only part magic,” he explained. “My mum’s human, my father was a creature. I don’t know how much you know about Australian creatures,” he turned to Louis, looking for an answer.

“Not much,” Louis admitted. “Haven’t really gone traveling much. Liam probably knows a bit, though. He’s my centaur, descendant of Chiron.”

“ _Your_ centaur, huh?” Nick teased. Louis retaliated by lifting his wing to tickle behind Nick’s knee with the feather tips, which caused Nick to squirm and yelp.

“Anyway,” Seann chuckled, “his name is an old Aboriginal word, but basically he’s a sea monster, sort of a merman but a little more fish than man. The legend is, any kids playing out by the water after sunset would be kidnapped and eaten by him.” Nick whistled, shaking his head. “That was just legend,” Seann said. “You know, to scare the kids and make sure they listened to their parents. He mostly keeps to himself, really. You know how important hiding is,” Seann turned to Louis, who nodded in agreement. “Mum was on holiday in Australia, he spotted her and was enchanted, stole her away for a few days, and I was born nine months later,” he shrugged.

Louis blinked, “But if he’s mostly fish, then….” He trailed off with a startled laugh as Seann groaned loudly and put his hands over his ears.

“Shhh!” Seann whined, causing Nick to chuckle as well. “Mum’s never said. I’m going to go with just… magic.”

“Probably,” Louis agreed solemnly, then laughed a bit. “Don’t really think there’s any other way, to be honest.”

“Good,” Seann shuddered. “Anyway, sometimes when I’m in the water for an extended amount of time, I get a tail. Discovered that entirely by accident one afternoon when I was a kid.”

Nick’s eyes lit up. “That’s wicked! We should totally get you in a tank for your next performance.” 

Louis and Seann both looked at each other, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads but looking fondly back at Nick. “Other than the tail,” Seann went on as if Nick hadn’t spoken, “I don’t really have any actual magic. At least that I’ve noticed.”

“I’ve always heard rumours of that kind of thing happening,” Louis said, voice soft in awe, “but I’ve never actually met anyone like you. Oh, you’ll have to meet everyone!” His eyes lit up. “Especially Harry, he’s an actual merman. He’d be so excited!” His wings twitched in his excitement, causing Nick to laugh and curl closer to Louis’ body. Louis blushed and settled down a little, before continuing on. “How have you kept anyone from noticing?”

“Guessing he stays out of the water?” Nick smirked at Louis, who rolled his eyes.

“Basically, yes,” Seann laughed. “I also have a fake tail that I like to wear sometimes, so if people see me suddenly with a tail, they might not be that surprised.”

“That’s brilliant!” Louis exclaimed, clapping his hands together with wide eyes. “I love it.”

They continued to chat for a few minutes, until Nick finally decided that they needed to get back to rehearsal. He shooed Louis away, making him find somewhere else to be so that he and Seann could work without distraction.

-

Later that night, Nick and Louis sat curled up together in Nick’s flat, Pig sprawled across both of them. She had instantly liked Louis the moment she had met him, and followed him around everywhere. The first time that he’d unfurled his wings, it had startled her. Once she got used to it, though, she started to make a game out of it, chasing after the feathers and trying to grab any loose ones with her muzzle. Louis, of course, had to play along. He liked to dangle the ends of his wings in front of her, close enough to tickle her nose and make her go running around in circles trying to get to him. As much as Nick tried to scold Louis and tell him to stop messing with the dog, Louis wouldn’t give up. 

There was something about having Louis there that made Nick’s flat feel more alive. He made it feel full, happy… all of those warm and cozy emotions. For Nick, though, it still didn’t quite feel fully like _home_. It was like something was missing. No, not something. Someone.

“I miss Liam,” he murmured as he played with Louis’ hair. 

“Me too,” Louis admitted, rubbing his head back against Nick’s hands. Since the live shows for the X Factor had started, Louis travelled to London more often. He was still intimidated by large crowds of humans, and on edge a lot of the time he wasn’t alone with Nick, but he was fascinated by the process. Nick loved the enthusiasm the siren had. He couldn’t manage the live shows, but he was always there for dress rehearsals, and Nick loved the way that his face lit up as he took everything in.

Still, it didn’t feel the same without Liam there. Even when Nick thought Liam was just a horse, somehow he still had been an important piece for Nick and Louis. Now that he knew the horse was actually a centaur, and he had gotten to know the centaur, he missed him deeply. There was no way that Liam could fit in Nick’s flat, especially without attracting all kinds of unwanted attention. The tabloids had already caught Louis a couple of times, which Nick felt incredibly guilty for. 

They had to find something that would work. Nick was absolutely determined. 

It should have weirded him out, really. The whole situation should have. The problem, Nick thought, was that there was just so much weird going on that he didn’t know where to start other than to just… take it as best as he could. He was in a long distance relationship with someone who didn’t even have a phone. Oh, who also happened to be half-bird. Who… also happened to be not-so-secretly also in love with his best friend…. Who happened to be a centaur. Who Nick happened to be rather fond of and could easily fall in love with, too. Fucking weird, all around.

Maybe the weirdest thing was that he wasn’t getting sex out of it and somehow, he just didn’t care. He loved sex, normally Nick hated the idea of not getting it. But with his siren and his centaur, just being around them seemed to be enough. Sure, they were both incredibly attractive men… the non-animal parts, anyway. They were both absolutely stunning as a whole, too, but Nick didn’t exactly find himself sexually attracted to them. He was perfectly content with cuddles and kisses, both of which he got plenty of from both Louis and Liam.

“Stop thinking,” Louis whined when Nick’s hand stilled in his hair. “I know Liam’s distracting, but I’m right here.”

“Of course, little bird,” Nick said, saccharine sweet. Louis hummed happily when Nick went back to paying him more attention. “Do you like being away from Ibiza?”

Louis shrugged. “I like it when I’m with you. I don’t like the crowds in London, feels claustrophobic. Don’t like leaving Liam, either, especially being here when you’re busy. He keeps me calm when I get too nervous.”

In lieu of response, Nick just nodded slowly, formulating a plan in his mind.

-

Nick kept the plan to himself for a while after his initial idea, while he set the pieces into motion. He planned on taking full advantage of his break from the radio, inviting both Louis and Liam to England for the New Year so that he could share his plan with them. They had no idea what he had in mind, and Nick knew it was probably driving them nuts: especially Liam.

He’d learned pretty quickly that Liam could read his mind if he really wanted to. Most of the time, Liam was the utmost gentleman (or would it be gentlecentaur, Nick wondered), but Nick knew that he would try and get this out of him. Of course, Nick did what he knew would work: went to Simon. 

Once Nick found out about Louis and his friends’ true identities, it wasn’t long until he found out that his boss just happened to be a demi-god. They had talked about the whole hidden world a few times. It had mostly involved Simon lecturing Nick, making sure that he wouldn’t tell anyone else about what existed out there. 

Nick wasn’t dumb, of course. Sure, he loved his share of gossip. This secret, though, was one that he knew he had to keep close to him. It was hard, though. There were days that he just wanted to tell Aimee all about the magical creatures he’d seen and the beautiful places that he’d been. There were days where he just wanted to tell Fiona all about the two beings that he was falling hard for. Fiona had met Louis by then, but there were days where he wished that she could see Louis for who he really was, and meet Liam as well. He couldn’t risk it, though.

Instead, if he had any concerns about Louis and Liam, or anything else involving their hidden world, he went to Simon. That was why as soon as he knew that he had a secret to keep from Liam, he had to discuss it with the demi-god. Keeping the secret from Louis wouldn’t be a problem: Nick loved riling Louis up, making him guess but never telling him whether he was right or wrong. Liam, though, was much harder to keep secrets from. Luckily, Simon was able to mix up some potions for Nick, and if he drank them, he could keep his mind closed off from Liam’s curiosity.

It worked perfectly.

-

The morning of New Year’s Eve found Nick in a familiar situation. He was standing on the beach, picnic basket full over his arm. Except this time, instead of standing on the warm shores of Ibiza, he was standing on the cold beaches of England. When he finally spotted Louis and Liam walking up the shores to him, his face lit up and he forgot all about the shivering. “Welcome to the Norfolk coast!” he greeted them, opening his arms. 

It was only a matter of seconds before they both found their way into his arms, a three-way hug that had taken them many attempts to get down. The first few tries had been arms and wings and hooves everywhere, but the three of them had finally found the most comfortable way: Louis pressed against Nick’s chest, one arm and wing wrapped around the human. His other wrapped around Liam, who held Nick’s body against his chest. The hugs were familiar and warm and everything Nick never knew that he wanted.

“What is this place?” Liam asked when they broke apart, all still smiling.

“The Norfolk Coast is what’s called an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In other words, it’s protected by all kinds of environmental laws. Some areas are a bit touristier than others, and there’s a huge sustainable fishing area, but some areas are pretty much empty and left alone,” Nick beamed.

“It’s really nice,” Louis admitted, looking around.

“Isn’t it?” Nick grinned. “We can explore later, there’s a lot to see. But first, I have one more thing that I absolutely must show you.” Louis and Liam turned to look at each other, eyebrows raised in confusion. “It’s a bit of a walk, so….” He raised an eyebrow in question at Liam.

Liam let out a huge put-upon sigh, then nodded. Nick whooped and climbed easily on Liam’s back, Louis getting on behind him and wrapping his arms around the human. Never in a million years did Nick expect to love horseback riding so much. Then again, none of the horses he’d been on before had abs and a chest quite as spectacular as Liam’s. He directed Liam away from the beach, down a path that hadn’t been travelled very much. It was overgrown, with weeds and flowers pushing through the dirt and stones, and fallen branches scattered everywhere. 

After a few more minutes, a large old building came into view. Nick didn’t say anything as they got closer, but he couldn’t keep the grin from growing on his face.

“What’s this?” Louis asked, brow furrowed in confusion when they stopped. He jumped down, and began to walk over to the building without waiting to see if the others followed him. He looked around it, head tilting one way or another as he took it all in, trying to understand what was going on.

Nick had always found Louis’ bird-like mannerisms adorable, but now that he was able to see Louis for who he really was? He would never get tired of noticing them. Louis truly was his little bird, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He hugged Liam around the middle before climbing back off, nearly dropping the picnic basket. Why had he brought it along in the first place? He should have just left it here. Idiot. It was a force of habit, he told himself, that’s all. “This way,” Nick laughed, pointing to a door further down.

The building in question was an old stone building. Nick wasn’t entirely sure what its original purpose had been; it looked too small to be any kind of castle or fortress, but it probably had been a church in another century. The ceilings were high and open, after all. Nick pulled open the big front door, leading both of them inside. Once upon a time, the stone walls probably had been dark and cold. In recent years, however, it had been converted to a barn, so it was full of bright lights and warmth. There was a huge stall right at the front, fit for a very spoiled horse. Above was a loft, originally meant for hay, but Nick had found someone who was able to refurbish it into a fully functioning small kitchen and bathroom. 

“This is incredible,” Liam murmured, eyes wide as he took everything in. He was able to properly move around, the wide hall and high ceilings the right size so that he didn’t feel completely cramped and too big to actually be inside. 

“This isn’t even the best part,” Nick grinned.

“Good, because this might be exciting for a horse, but I’m no horse,” Louis muttered, rolling his eyes. Despite his air of indifference, Nick could still see that he was actually genuinely impressed by the buildings. Nick had a sneaking feeling that the high ceilings- high enough to allow for him to take flight up to the loft, instead of having to use stairs- actually excited the siren. But he didn’t argue the point; he’d learned with Louis when not to push.

Nick just winked at him instead, and led them to the area next to the stall. It had once been a large stall, too, but Nick had that converted as well. “Now, I know you two don’t really need to sleep. But I do, so,” he waved his arm out to the huge bed that was set up there, raised off the ground but not far. “There is plenty of room for you to lay down and spread your wings,” Nick smiled up at Louis, who was grinning happily. He then turned to Liam. “No hooves allowed in the bed, I’m afraid, but I’m hoping the bed is at a good enough height that you can lay next to it and be able to reach one of us.”

Liam flushed, clearly touched and surprised that Nick had thought of him in such a way. “Thank you.”

“This is yours?” Louis asked, looking around the large room and all the furniture in it before turning to look back at Nick, surprise in his eyes.

Nick nodded. “I miss you guys so much when you’re not here. Lou, I know you hate London. And I know it’s hard for you to travel a lot, Liam, especially into the city. And I know how draining it is for both of you to use your disguise magic all the time. So I was looking around, trying to find a place where we could get together that was more secluded so you didn’t have to worry about keeping the disguises up. You could… look the way you are meant to.” he looked down, suddenly a little embarrassed by everything, and feeling a little foolish for the gesture.

“It’s brilliant,” Liam reassured Nick, walking over and wrapping his arms around the human. “I can’t believe you did this for us. Found such a special location, and for it to already be a barn? It’s just the right size, it’s open and perfect for both of us. All three of us. Four, when you bring Pig here.”

Nick beamed at the mention of Pig. Pig had only met Liam once, when he’d taken her out to Ibiza, but they’d had an absolute blast running around together. “So that means you’ll come use it?” He asked hopefully, glancing over at Louis as well.

Louis looked from Nick to Liam, then suddenly broke into a grin. “Of course, you twat!” he crowed with a laugh, lifting into flight and tackling Nick to the ground, rolling him into a hug. “This is incredible. You really did this for us? You bought a house just for us all to live it? Why?”

“The house and some of the land around it, just to be extra sure that we will be left alone except by those we invite,” Nick clarified. “I wanted it to be a place where you and other creatures like you wouldn’t be afraid to come and meet up, especially if they’re ones who’ve managed to really immerse themselves in human culture but want a few hours to just be free to be in nature and be themselves. I did it for all of that, but also… also because I love you both.” He looked down at his admission.

“Oh, Nick,” Liam murmured, his voice low in awe. “You want that? For our kind? That’s… so brilliant. Not only can they have a sacred place to relax, but to meet others. Even… even to learn, because I could maybe settle in and teach to take after Chiron. Wow, Nick,” he shook his head, just taking everything in for a moment. “Gods, I love you,” he laughed, his laugh a little shy and awkward but he leaned down to press a kiss to Nick’s forehead all the same. “Gods help me, I love both of you absolute idiots.”

“I love you too!” Louis grinned, pressing a sloppy kiss to Nick’s cheek and then to Liam’s. Nick couldn’t help the huge grin on his face as he looked from one of them to the other.

Finally, they had a place they could call home.


	8. Glossary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a small glossary of some of the perhaps lesser-known creatures mentioned in the story!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've given a quick description as well as linked to a picture to give an understanding of how the creatures are said to look in legend. obviously a few are slightly different in the story, fitting their namesake more.

**[Afanc](http://www.historic-uk.com/assets/Images/afancellewilson.jpg?1390900293)** : Welsh water creature who would create waves and floods with its tail and terrorize others. 

**[Aos Sí](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fdou0Xa3IfY/S5AjFgQgsoI/AAAAAAAAF7c/aKw9W1lB4IY/s320/a+riders.jpg)** (sometimes Sidhe) : Kings and Queens of the Fairy Realm. 

**[Krakonoch](https://europeisnotdead.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/czech-republic-krakonoch.jpg)** : An unpredictable giant monster whose mood depends in part on the forces in nature around him. He is either deadly or helpful. 

**[Melusine](http://i.imgur.com/2aixxeL.jpg)** : A French water fairy. 

**[Muldjewangk](http://40.media.tumblr.com/0fd325e69731fed8a94d8c775e6573f2/tumblr_n5wlyfvQq31skc7aro1_1280.jpg)** : Australian water creature said to kidnap children. 

**[Nereid](http://www.theoi.com/image/img_nereides.jpg)** : A water goddess who travels with dolphins and aids sailors. 

**[Plesiosaur](http://previewcf.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/07/06__13_44_35/1.jpg084e6cc3-892f-4a6e-8dcc-dadd019687d6Large.jpg)** : A prehistoric marine reptile. 

**[Pooka](https://randomdescent.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/pooka.png)** : An Irish shape-shifter who can take assorted animal and human forms. Tricksters who can create or destroy. 

**[Satyr](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/monster/images/1/1f/Satyr.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20101112033948)** : Lustful half-goat, half-human creatures. 

**[Valkyrie](http://www.viking-mythology.com/img/The_Valkyries_Chooser_of_the_Slain.jpg)** A group of warlike maidens who served Odin. 

**Author's Note:**

> See the last chapter for a glossary of some of the beings mentioned throughout the story, and let me know if there's any that you think I should add!


End file.
